Perhaps one of the most talked-about parties in the lead-up to next month’s election, Rise Mzantsi is expected to be a serious player should the country have no outright winner in the national elections or in a province like Gauteng where the party is gaining serious ground.
Zibi is from the same town as Holomisa.
Holomisa, when approached for comment, said everyone was free to contest elections.
“Right now you have so many people who want to be presidents in Gauteng,” he said. Anyone is free to contest elections and the choice is for people [to make ].”
He said the parties were campaigning nationally and they did not need to get votes from their provinces to make it to the National Assembly.
But Zungula explained that the significance of the increasing number of people leading parties to parliament was that leaders saw the need for change.
“Currently, you have ... four leaders coming from the Eastern Cape, which shows that the province is ready for change.”
He said parties like his were often labelled as regional, but there was a need for them to campaign in other parts of the country.
“We are not regional players. There is an appetite [from other provinces] ... Because the bulk of support comes from the Eastern Cape, you spend more time in the Eastern Cape.”
Six Eastern Cape party leaders contesting for presidential hot seat
Some are seasoned campaigners, others’ faces not so familiar
When the country goes to the voting booth on May 29 for the national and provincial government elections, the Eastern Cape will have six leaders vying to be SA’s next president.
The approved ballot paper for the National Assembly shows that six men from the province will be leading their parties as presidential candidates.
These include seasoned campaigners like the UDM’s Bantu Holomisa and the PAC’s Mzwanele Nyhontso.
The young but reasonably familiar Vuyo Zungula will be the face of the African Transformation Movement for the second time, after completing his first term, which began in 2019.
The African Independent Congress, founded in Matatiele during the fight by residents to have the town incorporated into KwaZulu-Natal, will be led by its president, Mandla Galo.
The party will be going at it for the third term, having first made it to the National Assembly in 2014.
Nelvis Qekema will be the fifth presidential candidate, leading Azapo.
The new kid on the block, Rise Mzantsi, will see a fresh face, Songezo Zibi, leading the party.
Security agencies will safeguard elections, IEC says ahead of May 29
Perhaps one of the most talked-about parties in the lead-up to next month’s election, Rise Mzantsi is expected to be a serious player should the country have no outright winner in the national elections or in a province like Gauteng where the party is gaining serious ground.
Zibi is from the same town as Holomisa.
Holomisa, when approached for comment, said everyone was free to contest elections.
“Right now you have so many people who want to be presidents in Gauteng,” he said. Anyone is free to contest elections and the choice is for people [to make ].”
He said the parties were campaigning nationally and they did not need to get votes from their provinces to make it to the National Assembly.
But Zungula explained that the significance of the increasing number of people leading parties to parliament was that leaders saw the need for change.
“Currently, you have ... four leaders coming from the Eastern Cape, which shows that the province is ready for change.”
He said parties like his were often labelled as regional, but there was a need for them to campaign in other parts of the country.
“We are not regional players. There is an appetite [from other provinces] ... Because the bulk of support comes from the Eastern Cape, you spend more time in the Eastern Cape.”
‘Despite challenges, our democracy is in good health’ — Ramaphosa
Zungula said his party was aiming to grow its support and he was confident of growth because of the work his party had done during his first term in parliament.
Galo said the reason there was an increasing number of political parties and leaders was that people wanted to look after themselves financially.
He said the country needed to change its electoral system and include traditional leaders, who would have more power through an “upper house of kings and queens” and who would have veto powers to block political interest groups from passing laws that were not in line with African norms and values.
Zibi said he understood Galo’s sentiments about people getting into politics to enrich themselves.
“[That is] because of the corruption that people have been seeing [over time], that someone was among them, they get into politics and suddenly they have access to tenders and all of these things.”
He said that to fix the problem, the country needed more people who were not in politics to make money.
“In other words, the incentive to make money is outside politics rather than inside politics.”
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Zibi said his party had started campaigning last year at a slow pace because it was building its support not just for next month’s elections, but also for the 2026 local government and 2029 elections.
He said that when other parties established they did so for an upcoming election and tended to fall apart after the elections were over, something his party was working against.
“We have a strong presence in the parts we identified in all nine provinces.
“Gauteng is strong for us because there are a lot of people from all nine provinces.”
But he said his party was building in the Eastern Cape, citing areas like the Buffalo City Metro, King Sabata Dalindyebo, Ingquza Hill and Chris Hani municipalities.
He said they were going to expand and keep building.
Zibi said he was lucky to have recruited people who were experienced in running political campaigns.
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