By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Videography: Jacob Mawela.
Rise Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi is confident that his party will have representation in the provincial and national legislature. It is only the extent of that representation, he said, that is yet to be determined when votes are tallied.
Zibi said Rise Mzansi had two objectives for its first year of existence, which he added that the party will achieve.
“One was to become a national organisation that is a force to be reckoned with. Also to be recognised by many people. This because it’s very difficult to have an impact in politics if people don’t know who you are. [Rise Mzansi is] known in all nine provinces. We managed to get on the ballot in all nine provinces.
“Two is to make sure that we have representatives in legislatures and parliament. If we can do that, then we get a chance to show South Africans what we do when we get elected. [We can also] build on it for 2026 and 2029. I’m confident that we’ll be able to achieve both objectives.”
Rise Mzansi is falling behind in the national results, with 0.42% at 33 675 votes.
In Gauteng, RISE Mzansi currently has 0.88%, following the Patriotic Alliance; Cape Town is 0.43% and in KZN, the party managed to garner 0.11% of the total votes.
RISE Mzansi received a cash injection of R15 million from Rebecca Oppenheimer, which sparked engagement on social media, and during the party’s campaign trail in various political debates.
The party’s fund declaration received a sceptical response from the public, doubting its credibility and integrity.
The ANC was currently in first place with 41.86% of the vote nationally, the DA was second with 22.88%, the MK Party was third with 11.80%, the EFF was fourth with 9.5%, and the IFP was fifth with 2.92%.
Watch in the video below:
Video Courtesy of Fullview.