Canny small parties making their mark
THIS coming election will probably see a strong showing by more small parties than before. The campaign period is signalling just how significant parties like the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP), Build One South Africa (Bosa), RiseMzansi, Patriotic Alliance (PA), ActionSA and the SA Rainbow Alliance are in at least three areas.
For Devoted Citizen, as an NGO dedicated to active citizenship, small and big parties deepen our participatory democracy. The first is their ability to campaign and garner support. We have witnessed their energy in conducting rally-type campaigns, especially during manifesto launches. They have done well in other forms of campaign, especially social media and digital mobilisation, focusing on digitally-abled citizens.
They can saturate social media with an organic type of engagement, such as posting a position on a matter that is in currency in mass media or social media. It does not often look like marketing but it is. It is made to seem like an input in public debates, but they are seeking to shape the debate through the benefit of having researched and customised positions. They thus come across as wise and insightful.
Some of the social media engagement is assisted by the errors of bigger parties in their communications. Take DA leader John Steenhuisen’s spirited speech in which he attacks small parties for joining the Western Cape fray, where the DA governs. This is because of a subject of debate on social media. ActionSA, Bosa, RiseMzansi, the PA and even Xiluva joined voices the debate but branded and customised their messages. They took advantage, with some success.
Another example is ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula tweeting that the party would end load shedding by the end of the year. This sparked a flurry of views from social media users and political observers. The smaller parties, like the PA, Cope, UDM, Bosa and RiseMzansi participated actively. In the process, they also shared their manifesto positions on energy.
The small parties have also been successful in mass media engagement, forcing themselves onto TV screens and radio platforms almost daily. They signal that while they may have a small support base, they have big ideas, plans and intellects.
When they are invited to virtually every party debate in the media, they are diligent in positioning themselves as significant voices worthy of such invitations. Once they have opportunities, they are well prepared to make an impression because they need this. After all, they don’t have the many options for mobilising support that bigger parties do.
The TV and radio debates on manifesto themes, such as the economy, land, crime, energy and so forth, have showcased a sophisticated RiseMzansi and Bosa, an energetic MKP, ActionSA and PA, a cool-headed Xiluva, and perhaps the experienced IFP and UDM. It has demonstrated some sound diversity in the parties’ behaviour.
RiseMzansi and ActionSA have been remarkable in their poster campaigns. This is an expensive means of citizen mobilisation. Small parties usually approach it with caution. But the two parties have posters almost everywhere across the country. This is an activity that requires well-functioning ground forces.
The MKP has distinguished itself among small parties in door-to-door campaigns that seem to function on the setting up of a network of cells of volunteers throughout the country. Two of its rallies, in Giyani and Alexandra, were a failure but in Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal, they have been a success. It has also been kept in the limelight, with lots of airtime, by litigation over their name and logo. It has used this to convene mini-rallies outside courts.
The MKP has a distinct advantage in having former president Jacob Zuma headline its campaign. Zuma, who was a single key factor to the ANC, increased its KZN support in previous elections. He is a skilled campaigner with a huge following of his own.
Clearly, small parties galvanise new sets of citizens to vote. They bring new voters on board, among these are the disenchanted middle classes. They mobilise those who are disgruntled with big parties.
It seems there is a group of small parties, who are eating into the DA support base or target market, such as the ActionSA, PA, Bosa, RiseMzansi, Xiluva and the GOOD Party. Others are taking on the ANC, such as the MKP, RiseMzansi, PA and ATM. The MKP may limit the further rise of the EFF in KZN and Mpumalanga.