De Lille losing her ID numbers
2004-03-26 19:59
Cape Town - Three Northern Cape Independent Democrats on Friday announced their resignation from the party and returned to the African National Congress, saying "we all make mistakes in life".
In a joint statement, Lesley Visser (regional co-ordinator and election candidate), Brendon van der Merwe (ID administrator), and John Williams (regional co-ordinator), said a year ago they made the "mistake of our lives".
"Without knowing what we know today, we started actively campaigning for the Independent Democrats."
They said they had believed ID leader Patricia de Lille when she spoke about the need for a constructive, progressive opposition and about the democratic process the party would follow in its election of leaders and public representatives.
"The truth is that the ID party is neither progressive, nor democratic. Its existence is all about the personal ambitions of one Patricia de Lille."
The trio also accused De Lille of "targeting voters in the Northern Cape on a race card".
"With absolute conviction we have now returned to the ANC. We should never have left it in the first place," they said.
- SAPA