The great floor-crossing waltz
2004-08-31 12:49
Jan-Jan Joubert
and Gert Coetzee
Cape Town - One of the most-unpopular periods on the South African political calendar kicks off on Wednesday when city-council members can cross the floor from one party to the next without losing their seats.
The floor-crossing will largely complete the practical disbandment of the New National Party, and great emphasis is being placed on where NNP council members will find themselves after the completion of the floor-crossing season on September 15.
Meanwhile, other parties also are vulnerable.
In the previous floor-crossing season two years ago, the African National Congress was the big winner while the Democratic Alliance, Inkatha Freedom Party, United Democratic Movement and Dr Lucas Mangope's United Christian Democratic Party lost numerous seats.
The NNP's floor-crossers can make the biggest difference in the Western and Northern Cape councils, where they hold the sway in power.
Floor-crossers being promised positions
The chances of this happening are slim, however, as the ANC has already promised that the NNP floor-crossers knocking on its door will retain their paid positions.
There is much caucusing countrywide, with many meetings behind closed doors and allegations of cheque-book politics: that floor-crossers are promised positions in exchange for a change in party affiliation.
Council members who anticipate crossing the floor maintain they are doing it from principle.
The ANC is in the strongest position by far to ward off attempts to siphon off its council members.
The reason for this is that any council member who plans to cross the floor has to be accompanied by 10% of his or her party members on a specific council, otherwise the move will be invalid.
A party wanting to steal members from another with more than 10 members in a council must get them to cross the floor simultaneously.
Council members can remain with their parties, cross the floor to another party, found an own party or remain in the city councils as independents.
NNP council members (who were elected in 2000 under the banner of the DA) have been drawing the most attention because their party leadership wants to disband the NNP, so they have to worm themselves in elsewhere in anticipation of next year's local elections.
The number of NNP council members who will follow Marthinus van Schalkwyk and his leadership corps as dowry to the ANC is still uncertain.
'A fight like never before'
However, NNP leaders have been working hard in the past weeks to take the herd into the kraal with them.
Van Schalkwyk and the remaining eight NNP MPs apparently will be joining the ranks of the ANC on Thursday.
On city-council level, however, it will be a fight like never before.
One example is the Bloemfontein city council, where the NNP has eight members.
Beeld has heard confidentially that only one is aiming for the ANC, four are aiming for the DA and the other three will retire from politics.