MyPE

Community Business Directory, Event Listings, News and Views from Gqeberha, Nelson Mandela Bay

Could AIC making it to Parliament be a case of mistaken identity?

By

Results streaming in at the Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) Results Operations Centre, indicate that three new political parties will take up seats in Parliament, following the 2014 General Elections.

The newcomers are the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) lead by Julius Malema, the National Freedom Party (NFP) and the African Independent Congress (AIC).

By 10am on Friday, the EFF had garnered 1 039 747 votes, the NFP had bagged 272 300 and the AIC had 90 833 votes.

For a seat in Parliament, a political party needs about 47 000 votes.

African Independent Congress
African Independent Congress

The AIC is a party in the Eastern Cape region of Matatiele in the former Transkei homeland. This year, the AIC was registered provincially in the Eastern Cape only as well as nationally.

The party’s colours are also reminiscent of the ANC – black, yellow, green and white. And on this year’s ballot papers, the AIC appeared just above the ANC.

Political analyst Somadoda Fikeni said it was possible that some voters may have unintentionally voted for the AIC, thinking they were voting for the ANC.

“As far as I remember it doesn’t even have people at the results centre. I am sure they are still recovering from the shock themselves.”

This year’s elections, according to Fikeni, are likely to see other smaller parties such as the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), the United Christian Democratic Party, the Minority Front, the Azanian People’s Organisation and the African People’s Convention probably disappearing from Parliament altogether.

Fikeni said the new kid on the block, Agang, led by Mamphele Ramphele “never took off from the runway”.

Another party that has failed to impress is Kenny Kunene’s Patriotic Alliance which received 12 835 votes or 0.08 percent of the votes.

The lowest on the list was the People’s Alliance (PAL) with 1560 (0.01%) of the votes.

But for Fikeni the biggest loser at this stage was the Congress of the People which downgraded from 7.4% and now is even struggling to reach one percent.

If the results are anything to go by, the ANC will still have the majority seats followed by the DA.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is left with less than 5% of the vote counting for the 2014 general elections, with the results expected to be declared on Saturday. – SAnews.gov.za

The following two tabs change content below.
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Google+ profileMy LinkedIn profileMy Flickr profileMy Pinterest profile

Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.