As preparations for the second voter registration weekend get underway ahead of the 2024 national and provincial elections, new political party RISE Mzansi is encouraging South Africans to use the weekend to register to vote in what it calls a “major” election.

The party accused African National Congress (ANC) leader Cyril Ramaphosa and secretary-general Fikile Mbalula of lying about an alleged programme of regime change targeting the ruling party, and instilling fear in the electorate by claiming that the National Student Financial Aid Scheme and the South African Social Security Agency grants would end if the ANC loses power.

“While some might laugh these comments off as being the ramblings of the corrupt and desperate, they are designed to instil fear, create confusion and cultivate an environment ripe for chaos. This script is no different to that employed by [other] failed liberation movements and governments that lose legitimacy among the people. Ramaphosa, Mbalula and their cohort simply do not have ways to handle political competition in a maturing democracy,” RISE Mzansi said.

It said voters changing which parties they support in this year’s elections did not amount to unconstitutional regime change but rather a deepening of democracy, particularly as the country celebrates 30 years of democracy in April.

The party also warned of political intolerance, voter suppression and intimidation and revealed that its election volunteers and organisers had been threatened and that the party’s election posters had been destroyed.

“This is a major election. The future of the country and its people are at stake, hence our assertion that 2024 is our 1991, a message that has also found fertile ground in other political parties. We encourage South Africans who have yet to register to vote to use this final voter registration weekend to empower themselves to bring about the kind of change that is committed to a happy and dignified life for all South Africans,” RISE Mzansi said.