Holomisa eyes premier position
UDM founder appears ready to hand over control of the party, which he says can reverse its decline
United Democratic Movement (UDM) president Bantu Holomisa is set to become the party’s premier candidate for the Eastern Cape, where he has been pushing the idea of a government of provincial unity after the 29 May elections.
With the party’s electoral decline having reduced it to two seats in the Eastern Cape and two nationally, the move appears to be motivated by fears that UDM could sustain further losses next month.
It is also the first indication that Holomisa, 68, is ready to give up control of the party he has run since it was formed — should it reverse its electoral decline and survive beyond the elections.
Holomisa believes it will survive, and even grow, and says his move is aimed at stabilising the province and addressing the UDM’S leadership succession as it would see his deputy, Nqabayomzi Kwankwa, take over the reins of the party nationally.
At the weekend, Kwankwa issued a statement saying that Holomisa had agreed to make himself available in the Eastern Cape after the elections due to “pressure” from party structures; religious and traditional leaders; civil society organisations and individuals in the province.
“If the UDM does well in the Eastern Cape on election day, the UDM will arrange with the Electoral Commission of South Africa through changes to the UDM candidates list in the allowed window period after elections,” Kwankwa said.
Holomisa would continue to campaign nationally but would focus “more of his time and efforts in the Eastern Cape”, he said. “Should this change succeed I, as deputy, will have to step up to the plate and be the de facto president of the party, while president Holomisa assists in governing the Eastern Cape.”
The party has registered to contest all nine provinces — although it only has structures in eight — and Holomisa has been campaigning around the country, with visits to Gauteng and North West lined up before his return to the Eastern Cape.
“We are busy,” Holomisa said. “I am under pressure now to lend a shoulder to the Eastern Cape. If we do well, I will be ready to be redeployed after the elections.”
A lack of resources and the advanced stage of the campaign meant it was “too late” to win the Eastern Cape, he said.
Addressing the UDM’S loss of electoral numbers, Holomisa said that the decision to exploit its “potential” in the Eastern Cape could not be linked to “the lack of growth of the UDM in the last years”.
“If you look at what we have been targeting, batting on the wicket of anti-corruption and promoting the ethic of good governance, we can say we have been vindicated,” he said.
He said, despite its small numbers in parliament, the UDM had managed to stop the South African Airways sale to Harith Partners, which was implicated in the Mpathi Commission.
It had also blown the whistle on the speaker of parliament, Nosiviwe Mapisa-nqakula, over her alleged corruption while defence minister, which had resulted in her being charged and eventually resigning.
“This time around, voters might want to invest in the UDM. Timing is very important in politics. This might be the time that we turn around the so-called decline in our trajectory,” Holomisa said.
The UDM was formed in 1997 by Holomisa and the former National Party constitutional negotiator Roelf Meyer.
Holomisa, a former Transkei Defence Force general, took over the bantustan in a coup in 1987, ousting the government of prime minister Stella Sigcau.
Holomisa created a liberated zone in the Transkei, allowing the ANC to set up bases and supplying weapons and support to its combatants in Kwazulu-natal and playing a key role in its massive victory in the Eastern Cape in the first democratic elections.
However, he fell foul of the ANC leadership over his exposure of a R500 000 bribe allegedly paid to Sicgau, who had become part of the ANC establishment post-liberation.
He was expelled from the party and formed the UDM along with Meyer and a number of ANC members who left to join the new party.
Holomisa was elected as president of the UDM at its first national congress in June 1998.
The party did well in the 1999 national and provincial elections, when it secured 3.4% of the vote and took seats in six of nine provincial legislatures. It became the official opposition in Northern Province and Eastern Cape.
At local government level, the UDM took control of the King Sabata Dalindyebo municipality in the Eastern Cape, which includes Mthatha, but lost it through floor-crossing.
In 2004, the UDM’S electoral decline began in earnest and it lost five of its 14 seats in the National Assembly; losing a further five in 2009, along with its representation in every province except the Eastern Cape.
In 2014, the trend continued and, in 2019, the UDM lost half of its national and Eastern Cape seats.
It now has only two seats in the province and two nationally, and in 2021 lost further ground at local government level, securing only 157000 votes nationally (0.52% of the vote).
Despite this, Holomisa has been promoting the idea of a government of provincial unity in the Eastern Cape, one of the ANC’S strongest provinces, and one where it is not expected to need a coalition partner after the elections.
“There is a need for a government of provincial unity where, even if you win with numbers, you bring parties in. To stabilise the Eastern Cape, we will need many shoulders. It cannot be run by one party,” he said.
He believed that a loss of support on the part of the ANC, combined with his history during the “dark days”, could work in favour of such an agreement, which would be to the benefit of the province, where service delivery had collapsed.
Political analyst Susan Booysen said Holomisa was a “leader of note” and that the move appeared to be “the last chance for him to secure a big role” after 29 May.
He was the first ANC leader to take a stand against corruption and break away from the party and campaign against it.
As much as it was a “great gesture”, “I don’t think we should expect much to come from it”.
“The province is the wrong one for this kind of a move,” she said. “The Eastern Cape is a province in which the ANC is so strong — almost guaranteed to emerge with an overall provincial majority.
“It doesn’t have much of a chance to fly. He doesn’t have a kingmaker role or any kind of usability to offer the ANC,” Booysen said.
Booysen said it was possible that the UDM could use its parliamentary presence after 29 May. “I really don’t think the UDM is going to make an impact now,” she said.