ATTEMPT BY DA, ID TO BRING FLOOR CROSSING BACK

The Office of the ANC Chief Whip has noted with grave concern and disgust an attempt by the Democratic Alliance and the Independence Democrats to bring back floor crossing, which was abolished recently, to Parliament through the backdoor. The media has reported today of the intention by the two parties to allow MPs, MPLs and Councillors belonging to the ID to join the DA without losing their seats. This is floor crossing in disguise.

The introduction of the floor crossing legislation, which was a consequence of a great pressure from the Democratic Party, was aimed at allowing public representatives of various parties in all the spheres of government to change political allegiances without losing their seats.

The ID is itself a product of the floor crossing legislation, after its leader Patricia De Lille left the PAC during the first window period and became her party's only MP.

The ANC had at the time resisted the introduction of this legislation as it felt strongly that it would undermine the proportionality between the number of votes and parliamentary seats that resulted from our electoral system of proportional representation. We also felt that it would undermine the will of the people expressed through the ballot. However, at the end the ANC, consistent with its democratic traditions, allowed itself to be swayed by the view of the main opposition.

At the time that the DP (which is today the DA) pushed for the introduction of floor crossing, its strategy was to swallow the National Party in order to boost its numbers in Parliament. When that did not happen, and instead the party began losing its MPs to the ANC, the party made a sharp u-turn and staged another campaign to reverse the legislation.

The ANC decided at the 2007 Limpopo Conference to do away with the floor crossing legislation. The flip side of floor crossing is that public representatives remain with the party that contested the elections, or else they lose their seats if they elect to join another party in parliament.

The intention by the two parties is nothing other than a dull attempt to sneak in the abolished floor crossing through the backdoor. Floor crossing, whether in a different bottle labelled "dual membership" or any other creative name, is still floor crossing. We will fight any attempt to undermine our laws.

Statement issued by The Office of the ANC Chief Whip, ANC Parliamentary Caucus, May 4 2010

Click here to sign up to receive our free daily headline email newsletter