deregistered | Radio 94.7 FM

“The political party Black First Land First (BLF) was finally registered as a political party. The South African Electoral Court on Thursday rejected the BLF’s appeal against its deregistration in July this year,” says Dr. Pieter Groenewald, FF Plus leader.

“In terms of section 16 (1) (c) of the Electoral Commission Act (Act 51 of 1996), the IEC may not register a political party that excludes membership on the basis of race, color or ethnicity. The BLF’s constitution states in Article 4 that only black people may be members of this party.

“In its appeal, the BLF has argued, among other things, that the wording in its constitution that only blacks may be part of the party has been misinterpreted and that people of other racial groups can be seen as black.

“The FF Plus argued that the BLF, through its leader, Andile Mngxitama, made it clear throughout the day that whites were not allowed to join the BLF.
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This is after an complaint by the Freedom Front Plus that the BLF excluded membership on the basis of race.

According to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) statement: “Admissions by the BLF in its response to the appeal had served to clarify the position of the party, namely to exclude white people from membership.”

The FF Plus has welcomed the decision by the IEC, describing it as a victory.

“The fact that the appeal was granted means that justice prevailed. The FF Plus has been fighting for law and order in this case since January.

“It is unacceptable that the IEC violated the act by registering the BLF in the first place. Legislation may not be seen as mere guidelines, it must be complied with. No one is above the law,” says the party’s leader Pieter Groenewald.

-Jacaranda FM / 2019-07-15
This report does not necessarily reflects the opinion of SA-news.