The Congress of the People (Cope) has decided to go back to the drawing board after a poor voter turnout in the May 29 elections.
On Tuesday, Cope acting deputy secretary-general, Arthur Ketile, urged the public to join the party in the fight against corruption and unemployment, holding officials accountable and stabilising the economy.
“Now is the time for people to break free from such political parties and join us in the fight against the scourge of corruption and for a better future. Confronting the national problems of unemployment, poverty and inequality requires a political party that has not sold its soul to the highest bidders in the past elections,” said Ketile.
Cope garnered 30 968 (0.09%) votes nationally, failing to secure seats in Parliament and provincial legislatures across all provinces.
In 2009, when Cope was formulated, it scooped 7.42% of the vote, gaining 30 seats in the National Assembly.
However, in the last two administrations, it suffered a massive decline. In the 2014 elections, it gained three seats (0.67% of the vote) and in 2019 it gained two seats (0.27%).
The Star spoke to Cope acting national chairperson, Pakes Dikgetsi, about the party’s ability to fight corruption after its poor showing in the May polls.
Acknowledging that they had failed to garner votes in the elections, Dikgetsi said as a caucus they would self-introspect and strengthen party structures for the next administration, including the local government elections in 2026.
“Yes, we failed to garner seats. We have conducted a post-mortem and identified weaknesses. An organisational process is under way to rebuild party structures, strengthen leadership echelons, consolidate policy offerings, and connect with the people,” he said.
He slammed the Government of National Unity (GNU), saying it was an “elitist transition” that aimed to serve the privileged.
“The so-called GNU’s premise is based on serving vested interests rather than on the urgent need to develop robust programmes that can effectively address the pervasive issues of unemployment, poverty and inequality, highlighting the need for immediate action.
“It is an unsustainable social engineering, and its legitimacy is in question. It is an elitist transition for power brokers at the expense of taking the masses along and into confidence,” said Dikgetsi.
He described the political environment as “opportunistic”. “The elitist governance arrangement, with disparate ideological positions, cannot offer solutions to the national crises, making it unsustainable in the medium to long term. Politics can be engaged on either side of Parliament, or in our communications.”
This suggests Cope sees itself sitting on the opposition benches, against the broad coalition government.
Asked how they feel as caucus members after being conquered by new small parties, Dikgetsi said: “We are convinced that the loss at the polls is a temporary setback. We have accepted the election outcomes. With improved strategies and a wide-open political environment, we believe that we are going to make a strong comeback in the next elections.”
Additionally, he said Cope was recruiting young people for a strategic plan that would install the party into government for the 2034 administration.
“Young people are the future leaders. We have opened a process to invite young people to serve their country. Our new strategic plan seeks to see a Cope of 2034. The young people we are in the process of inviting to serve must accomplish this project,” said Dikgetsi.
The Star