DURBAN - OPPOSITION parties in KwaZulu-Natal have started gearing up for the local government elections.
THE Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), which is the official opposition party in the province’s legislature and in many municipalities kicked off its campaign by clearing the confusion over who will be face of the party.
In a media briefing on Tuesday, IFP president Velenkosini Hlabisa said he would be the face of the party’s election campaign. The party cleared the confusion after rumours that it would use both Hlabisa and former party president Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi as faces of the campaign surfaced last year.
There were even T-shirts that were printed which had the faces of both leaders which sparked the debate but the party distanced itself from those who printed the T-shirts and said it was investigating their origins.
Hlabisa’s supporters have in the past questioned why there were no party regalia printed with his face since he was elected the leader in 2019. They felt he was being sabotaged by the KKK (Konke Kuhamba Kahle) camp within the party, which was believed to be unhappy with him as party leader.
Hlabisa is associated with the AU (Abusekho Ubunzima) faction but on Tuesday distanced himself from the camp. He warned supporters not to divide the party using his name.
He said he was not the president of certain individuals.
The party said while it wanted elections to be postponed due to Covid-19 cases surging, it was ready for election.
“I will lead the local government elections as the face of our organisation but I must emphasise that it was me who asked the party to honour our former president with promotional material for the whole of 2021,” said Hlabisa.
Meanwhile, the DA yesterday launched its campaign by unveiling its first voter registration poster in Durban CBD.
Led by the provincial leader Francois Rogers party members began putting up posters encouraging citizens to register for election and vote DA for change.
Speaking to the media, Rogers said the party has set its sight on winning uMngeni Local Municipality.
He said his party only needed 2 500 voters to win uMngeni and said he was confident the DA would emerge victorious after the election.
The voter registration weekend will be held on July 17 and 18.
Daily News