Cape Town - Ahead of the 2021 local government elections, the African Restoration Alliance (ARA), yet another new national political party, has been launched in Cape Town in a bid to capture the hearts and minds of voters.
The ARA is fronted by the ACDP’s former national executive committee chairperson, Jerome Swartz, who resigned in October citing bribery and corruption in the party.
Speaking at the launch, held at Community House in Salt River, after the party was formally registered by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), the leader said the party had ambitions beyond South Africa’s borders and was already in touch with political parties in Zambia and Ethiopia about cooperation.
Swartz said: “We are not a Cape Town party, we are a national party. We are different because first of all, we are not going to concentrate on South Africa, we are an Africa Restoration project. We have international policies.”
“We have nine delegates representing each province in South Africa and we will be contesting in each province in the 2021 local government elections. The party already has thousands of registered members across the country with representatives ready to serve in every municipality.”
ACDP whip Bongani Luthuli reacted: “We are not surprised by these developments. Swartz’s resignation from the party was due to the allegations that were levelled against him, which included rumours of starting a new political party using the resources from the ACDP at his disposal. When invited to respond to the allegations against him in the quest for fairness and his right of reply, Swartz opted to resign.”
Cape Argus