Leader of Black First Land First (BLF) Andile Mngxitama says he will not back down from convening a special policy conference in a bid to map out a plan to counter the de-registration of the movement.
Mngxitama said the Electoral Commission of South Africa’s (IEC) decision to have the BLF de-registered is aimed at denying indigenous people the ownership of land.
In June 2019, the Electoral Court ruled in favour of the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) to have the BLF officially scrapped from the list of the country’s political parties.
The IEC said this was based on its constitution which states that it may not register a political party that excludes membership on the basis of race, colour or ethnicity.
Mngxitama says they have the right to exist.
“The decision of the Electoral Court is to deny us leave to appeal, but it does not mean we do not have a right to go to the Constitutional court. We could use that option, we are just opting not to exercise that right, we are not going to appeal, instead we are holding a policy conference, month end in Durban where a way forward for our movement will be chartered…”
“We will not compromise on the land question, they want us out from the political system, we will not make that easy for them,” added Mngxitama.
