, abbreviated as MK, and often referred to as the MK Party, is a nominally

left-wing populist Left-wing populism, also called social populism, is a political ideology that combines left-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric often consists of anti- elitism, opposition to the Establishment, and speaking for the "com ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

n political party, founded in December 2023. The party is named after uMkhonto weSizwe (also shortened to MK), the

paramilitary A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

wing of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

(ANC) which was active during the apartheid regime in South Africa. However, the ANC has threatened legal action over the usage of the name, and the formation has been criticised by original MK veterans. The party rose to prominence in December 2023, when former president

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...

announced that, while planning to remain a lifelong member of the ANC, he would not be campaigning for the ANC in the

2024 South African general election General elections will be held in South Africa in 2024 to elect a new National Assembly as well as the provincial legislature in each province. These will be the seventh elections held under the conditions of universal adult suffrage since the ...

, and would instead be voting for MK. He stated that "I cannot and will not" campaign for the ANC of current president Cyril Ramaphosa, Zuma's successor, and that to do so would be a "betrayal". On 21 May 2024, a week before the 2024 general election, the Constitutional Court ruled that party leader

was ineligible to serve in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

as his fifteen-month prison sentence for contempt of court disqualified him. Although his image would remain on ballot papers, alongside his party's logo, Zuma's name would be removed from MK's list of parliamentary candidates.

Ideology

The party has been described as populist, Zulu nationalist, and "anti-foreigner".

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

called it a "radical left-wing party", while

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...

described its policies as

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

. It has supported some socially conservative policies including the repeal of laws legalising

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

. The party supports controversial, ostensibly reparative policies, such as expropriating white-owned land without compensation. Writing in the Mail & Guardian, Imraan Buccus describes the party's ideology as "predatory and authoritarian nationalism with far right-wing social views".

Support

Since the creation of the party, all opinion polling has shown it holds strong support in the

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

, with

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

and

coloured Coloureds ( af, Kleurlinge or , ) refers to members of multiracial ethnic communities in Southern Africa who may have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including African, European, and Asian. South ...

residents being the most favourable of the party. In early 2024 published opinion polls projected that the MK Party would cut significantly into the

ANC The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election installe ...

vote within the province, and attracted a polling percentage up to 35.6%. The party also attracted significant percentages in the immediate north-western province of

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

. Following the declaration of the election results of the National and Provincial Elections, MK Party secured 14.58% of the national votes. This translates to 58 seats in the National Assembly. In January 2024,

Black First Land First Black First Land First (BLF) is a black consciousness, pan-Africanist and revolutionary socialist political movement and political party in South Africa. It was founded in 2015 by Andile Mngxitama following his expulsion from the Economic Fre ...

party leader

Andile Mngxitama John Andile Mngxitama is a South African politician serving as the president of the Black First Land First party since October 2015. Formerly a member of the Economic Freedom Fighters, he served as a Member of the National Assembly of South Af ...

announced that he had joined the party, although he stated that BLF would not cease to exist, and that it was an electoral pact.

Infighting

The party has experienced infighting, with a number of resignations and dismissals, including party founder Jabulani Khumalo and others on the 2024 election list. In response to his dismissal, Khumalo claimed that he was still president, that Zuma was merely a consultant, and in turn suspended Zuma, asking the IEC to remove the Zuma's name from the candidate lists. The IEC subsequently ruled in favour of Zuma and allowed him to remain on the party's lists, noting his status as the MK Party's registered leader.

Election results

In February 2024, the party contested its first election, finishing third with 19% of the vote in the ward 8 by-election in the

Abaqulusi Local Municipality AbaQulusi Local Municipality is a local municipality in Zululand in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. It is named after the AbaQulusi, a Zulu clan whose descendants live in the vicinities of Vryheid, Utrecht, eDumbe and Ngotshe. The ...

, behind the

Inkatha Freedom Party The Inkatha Freedom Party ( zu, IQembu leNkatha yeNkululeko, IFP) is a right-wing political party in South Africa. The party has been led by Velenkosini Hlabisa since the party's 2019 National General Conference. Mangosuthu Buthelezi founded t ...

(IFP) on 47% and

(ANC) on 35%. Later that month, the party again finished third, winning 28% of the vote in an uPhongolo by-election, behind the IFP on 36% and the ANC on 33%. On 28 February 2024, the party contested a by-election in Govan Mbeki in

, its first outside

, finishing second on 28% behind the ANC on 51%. On 14 June 2024, the party would suffer a setback in its native province of KwaZulu-Natal after the provincial legislature elected a rival IFP member, Thami Ntuli, as Premier of KwaZulu-Natal. Ntuli defeated the MK Party's premier candidate, Zulu Nation deputy prime minister Phathisizwe Chiliza, with 41 votes to 39.

National Assembly elections

Provincial elections

! rowspan=2 , Election ! colspan=2 ,

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

! colspan=2 , Free State ! colspan=2 ,

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

! colspan=2 ,

Kwazulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

! colspan=2 ,

Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...

! colspan=2 ,

North-West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east ...

! colspan=2 ,

Northern Cape The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi T ...

! colspan=2 ,

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

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References

External links

Twitter account
{{South African political parties 2023 establishments in South Africa African National Congress breakaway groups Conservative parties in South Africa Nationalist parties in South Africa Political parties established in 2023 Political parties in South Africa Social conservative parties Socialist parties in South Africa