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

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

left-wing populist Left-wing populism, also called social populism, is a Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideology that combines left-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric often includes elements of anti-elitism, opposition to the E ...

political party founded in December 2023. The party is named after

uMkhonto weSizwe uMkhonto weSizwe (; abbreviated MK; ) was the paramilitary wing of the African National Congress (ANC), founded by Nelson Mandela in the wake of the Sharpeville massacre. Its mission was to fight against the South African government to brin ...

(also shortened to MK), the

paramilitary A paramilitary is a military that is not a part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the use of the term "paramilitary" as far back as 1934. Overview Though a paramilitary is, by definiti ...

wing of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...

(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 names Nxamalala and Msholozi. Zuma was a for ...

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 were held in South Africa on 29 May 2024 to elect a new National Assembly (South Africa), National Assembly as well as the Provincial legislature (South Africa), provincial legislature in each of the Provinces of South Africa, ...

, and would instead be voting for MK. He stated that "I cannot and will not" campaign for the ANC of current president

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician serving as the 5th and current President of South Africa since 2018. A former Anti-Apartheid Movement, anti-apartheid activist and trade union leade ...

, Zuma's successor, and that to do so would be a "betrayal". On 21 May 2024, a week before the

2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...

, the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...

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. In July 2024, Jacob Zuma was expelled from the African National Congress (ANC) because of campaigning for a rival party (MK party) in the 29 May general election.

Ideology

The party has been described as

populist Populism is a contested concept used to refer to a variety of political stances that emphasize the idea of the " common people" and often position this group in opposition to a perceived elite. It is frequently associated with anti-establis ...

, Zulu nationalist, and " anti-foreigner".

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

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

Al Jazeera Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...

described its policies as

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

. It has supported some

socially conservative Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism which places emphasis on traditional social structures over social pluralism. Social conservatives organize in favor of duty, traditional values and social institu ...

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 Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

. The party supports controversial, ostensibly reparative policies, such as expropriating white-owned land without compensation. Writing in the

Mail & Guardian The ''Mail & Guardian'', formerly the ''Weekly Mail'', is a South African weekly newspaper and website, published by M&G Media in Johannesburg, South Africa. It focuses on political analysis, investigative reporting, Southern African news, loca ...

, Imraan Buccus describes the party's ideology as "predatory and authoritarian nationalism with far right-wing social views". The party has criticised the impact of immigration on crime. Despite being a self-proclaimed socialist party, it supports expanding the powers of traditional tribal monarchs.

Support base

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

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

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

, with

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

and

coloured Coloureds () are multiracial people in South Africa, Namibia and, to a smaller extent, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Their ancestry descends from the interracial mixing that occurred between Europeans, Africans and Asians. Interracial mixing in 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 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 one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Nguni languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It shares bor ...

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

History

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. In January 2024, Black First Land First party leader

Andile Mngxitama John Andile Mngxitama is a South African politician serving as a member of Parliament for newly formed UMkhonto WeSizwe Party in the 7th Parliament. Previously he served as the president of the Black First Land First party from October 2015 unt ...

announced that he had joined the party, although he stated that BLF would not cease to exist, and that it was an electoral pact. In July 2024, the MK was confirmed as the official opposition party in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

. The MK party replaced the Democratic Alliance (DA), which joined the ANC-led multi-party

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

. On 15 August 2024 former EFF Deputy President and Parliamentary Chief Whip

Floyd Shivambu Nyiko Floyd Shivambu (born 1 January 1983) is a South African people, South African politician who served as a member of parliament for the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) until 15 August 2024, when he joined Jacob Zuma's uMkhonto weSizwe (poli ...

joined the party. Shivambu was appointed Secretary General, but was dismissed from the position in June 2025. On the 5th September 2024, the Western Cape High Court heard arguments that the National Assembly unlawfully delegated its duty by endorsing the MK Party’s nomination of impeached judge John Hlophe to the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) without independent scrutiny. Legal challengers argue this decision was irrational and undermines judicial integrity, while Hlophe and the MK Party maintain his appointment was valid. Former Democratic Alliance Midvaal mayor Bongani Baloyi has joined the uMkhonto weSizwe party on the 5th September 2024

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 Municipality () is a local municipality (South Africa), local municipality within Zululand District Municipality, in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. It is named after the AbaQulusi (Zulu), abaQulusi, a Zulu people, Zulu cla ...

, behind the

Inkatha Freedom Party The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP; ) is a conservative political party in South Africa, which is a part of the current South African Third Cabinet of Cyril Ramaphosa, government of national unity together with the African National Congress (ANC). A ...

(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 suffered a setback in KwaZulu-Natal after the provincial legislature elected an IFP member,

Thami Ntuli Arthur Thamsanqa Ntuli (born 11 November 1973) is a South African politician who is the Provincial Chairperson of the Inkatha Freedom Party in KwaZulu-Natal. He is the former mayor of Nkandla Local Municipality and King Cetshwayo District Munic ...

, as

Premier of KwaZulu-Natal The premier of KwaZulu-Natal is the head of government of the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The current premier of KwaZulu-Natal is Thami Ntuli, a member of the Inkatha Freedom Party. He took office on 18 June 2024. Functions In terms ...

. Ntuli defeated the MK Party's premier candidate, Zulu Nation deputy prime minister Phathisizwe Chiliza, with 41 votes to 39. As of May 2025, the party has won six by-elections, mostly in KwaZulu-Natal.

National Assembly elections

National Council of Provinces elections

, - !Election !Total # of
seats won !+/- !Result , - !

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, , - ,

Provincial elections

! rowspan=2 , Election ! colspan=2 ,

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

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

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

! colspan=2 ,

Kwazulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

! colspan=2 ,

Limpopo Limpopo () is the northernmost Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a ...

! colspan=2 ,

! colspan=2 , North-West ! colspan=2 ,

Northern Cape The Northern Cape ( ; ; ) is the largest and most sparsely populated Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley, South Africa, Kimberley. It includes ...

! colspan=2 ,

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

, - ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats , - !

, 1.44 , , 1/73 , 1.93 , , 1/30 , 9.79 , , 8/80 , 45.35 , , 37/80 , 0.85 , , 1/64 , 16.97 , , 9/51 , 2.06 , , 1/38 , 0.79 , , 0/30 , 0.57 , , 0/42

References

External links

Twitter account
{{South African political parties 2023 establishments in South Africa African National Congress breakaway groups Conservative parties in South Africa Jacob Zuma Nationalist parties in South Africa Opposition to same-sex marriage in Africa Organizations that oppose LGBTQ rights in Africa Pan-Africanism in South Africa Pan-Africanist political parties in Africa Political parties established in 2023 Political parties in South Africa Political parties of minorities in South Africa Socially conservative parties Socialist parties in South Africa