Cyril Ramaphosa, president of South Africa has described a campaign ad by an opposition party that depicts a burning national flag as an act of treason. The ad was released on Monday by the Democratic Alliance (DA) as it uses the burning flag as a metaphor for what it claims is the grave risk of the African National Congress party: the ruling party of the country. The ad shows a slowly burning flag with a voice warning of a disastrous alliance between the ANC, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), and those aligned with former president Jacob Zuma. A whole flag then unrolls from the ashes of the burnt one as the slogan “Unite to rescue South Africa, vote DA” appears.
During his visit to the Limpopo province, the president said, “I think it is treasonous. It is the most despicable political act that anyone can embark upon”.
The DA party won the second-largest share of total votes cast in the last election five years ago. Opinions polls conducted so far reveal that the May 29 elections will see the ANC lose its majority for the first time since it assumed power 30 years ago. In view of this, there are speculations that the ANC will be forming a coalition.
“We picked the flag as the clearest symbol of the dream we shared 30 years ago, at the dawn of democracy under President Nelson Mandela. The flames show how his vision has been ravaged by 30 years of ANC rule,” wrote Helen Zille, a former DA leader and chairperson of the party’s federal council, in an opinion column.
“It creates a choice. Are you part of burning the flag? Are you part of that brigade, or are you part of those of us like the DA who want to restore the flag?” Zille asked.
John Steenhuisen, leader of the DA has called the prospect of a coalition between the ANC and the EFF as a “doomsday” for the country. He however did not rule out a possible partnership with the ANC in government.
The ANC have said that they will win the election without the need of a coalition. Yet, the most recent opinion poll reveals that the party had support of just over 40%.
Source: www.reuters.com ,
