COPE says it still has a lot to offer SA politics

The Congress of the People (COPE) says it still has a lot to offer South African politics. This is despite suffering subsequent electoral losses.

The Congress of the People held a national conference in Bloemfontein last weekend.

More than a million people voted for COPE after its formation in 2008.

COPE appears not to have survived the 2014 internal leadership squabbles involving party leaders Mosiuoa Lekota and Mbazima Shilowa.

Hundreds of members have also defected to other parties. COPE now has 18 000 members from the previous 200 000.

It now has 2 seats in the National Assembly from 30 seats in 2009.

However, party’s National Chairperson Teboho Loate says they have a new strategy that will take the party forward.

“We don’t have structures. Without structures there were no people who looked after our votes. We didn’t have people to run our campaign on the ground. It was the leadership who was running around. All national leaders must go back to their ward and regions they must come back with structures they had built.”