Johannesburg —

South Africa’s ruling party has gone to court to try to prevent a newly formed rival party from participating in May’s elections.

The May 29 national election is widely expected to be the most competitive ever, with surveys suggesting the African National Congress will win less than 50% of the vote for the first time since the advent of democracy in 1994.

Now, a new opposition party called “umkhonto weSizwe” (MK), named after the disbanded armed wing of the African National Congress, formed by Nelson Mandela to fight apartheid, has angered the African nation. National University.

The fact that former president Jacob Zuma, a staunch supporter of the ANC, threw his support behind rival parties only added to the problem, and the ANC has suspended him.

On Monday, the ANC lodged a complaint with the Electoral Tribunal, saying the MK Party did not meet the necessary standards when it registered with the Electoral Commission late last year.

Addressing the media outside court on Monday, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said the ANC was also taking legal action to try to prevent Zuma from using the legendary uMkhonto weSizwe name.

“As far as this formation is concerned, we are challenging him on two levels. You have to understand that this is just the beginning,” Mbalula said. “Today in the Electoral Tribunal we are challenging him over the cancellation of the party’s registration.”

Mbalula said the ANC was also filing a copyright infringement lawsuit against the MK Party over the name.

Although Zuma was forced to resign as president in 2018 due to a corruption scandal and is currently embroiled in multiple court cases, he remains popular with fellow Zulu people in KwaZulu-Natal.

In July 2021, while he was briefly jailed for contempt of court, South Africa was experiencing the worst violence in its post-apartheid history, with more than 300 people killed in looting and rioting.

A poll this month by the Brenthurst Foundation, a local research group, put the ANC’s support below 40%, while the MK party won 13% of the vote.

“Does this mean South Africa will experience a violent election as it becomes more competitive? That remains to be seen,” said Greg Mills, director of the Brenthurst Foundation. “There’s no doubt it’s going to be intense. “Particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, where the MK party… holds about a quarter of the vote.”

Some members of the MK Party, such as the party’s youth leader and Zuma ally Viswin Reddy, have threatened violence if they are barred from participating in the election.

“The country will be plunged into civil war and MK will not be allowed to contest that day and will not be allowed to appear on the ballot paper. No one will vote and we will ensure that,” Reddy said at an MK rally earlier this month.

The electoral court reserved its verdict until a later date following arguments between MK and ANC lawyers on Monday.

A spokesman for MK did not respond to repeated requests for comment from VOA.