South African opposition appeals to US to spark political row

South Africa’s president has lashed out at a request from the country’s main opposition party for the United States to help oversee upcoming elections. The ruling party said the request was misleading given problems with the West’s own polls.

South Africa’s main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) caused a political uproar this week by writing to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other Western governments asking for help overseeing South Africa’s May 29 elections.

South Africa is believed to have held free and fair polls in the past, but the district attorney’s letter asked for foreign help to “preserve their integrity”, noting that it would be the “most important election” in 30 years of democracy.

A new poll this week showed the ruling African National Congress had just 39% of the vote, meaning it had lost its majority for the first time, The first post-apartheid election since 1994.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said the DA’s letter was “disingenuous” because the country has been employing international election observers and accused the opposition of trying to “mortgage” the country’s sovereignty to foreign powers.

Naledi Pandor, South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, said: “Writing such a letter, especially to a country where there is no observation and very low electoral participation rates, is quite surprising and a reflection on South Africa. A demeaning attitude.”

Meanwhile, ANC spokesman Mahlenghi Bengu-Moshiri said “the West’s” own elections were not always free of controversy.

“Despite our impeccable record in holding free and fair elections in South Africa, we have never sought to comment on elections in the West, even when their own citizens question the credibility of their electoral processes,” she said.

While she did not mention the United States directly, some South Africans pointed to the controversies of U.S. elections; for example, George W. Bush’s defeat of Al Gore in 2000, and Donald Trump’s defeat in 2020 Donald Trump falsely claims the election was stolen.

Political analyst Asanda Ngoaseng said the United States also has its own political problems.

“I think it’s ironic that the district attorney issued the letter that it issued because in the United States, former President Trump is still challenging their last election to this day,” she said.

When asked to respond to the backlash, DA shadow international relations secretary Emma Powell doubled down.

“However, it is clear that the ANC reacted violently to the opposition’s request for observer support because the ANC itself had something to hide,” she said.

The United States has distanced itself from the controversy.

David S. Feldmann, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, told VOA: “South Africa is a sovereign democracy and has its own electoral process. The Independent Electoral Commission in has a long-standing reputation for conducting free and fair elections.”