SOUTH Africa’s governing party, the African National Congress (ANC), has defended inviting Zimbabwe’s ruling party, Zanu PF, to the country ahead of its May 29 elections.
South Africa’s main opposition party condemned the invitation as an attempt to “contaminate” the electoral process.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) said the request for Zanu PF to be “part of (the ANC’s) election campaign programme amounts to political interference with our elections”.
The DA said Zanu PF did not deserve to be an observer in the elections, adding that it was going to lodge a complaint with the electoral commission. In response on Friday, ANC deputy secretary general Nomvula Mokonyane accused the opposition of “conflation between party activities and observer status as per the (electoral commission) processes”.
Mokonyane said the ANC had invited Zanu PF to the country as a guest. Her party “has a longstanding tradition of inviting liberation movements from across the African continent and beyond as guests”, she added.
Earlier in the week, Zanu PF secretary-general Obert Mpofu said the party had been invited by the ANC “to be part of their mobilisation process in the last few days of campaigning”. — BBC