Elections 2024: Premier applauds political parties for keeping peace in the province

KWAZULU-NATAL Premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube has applauded KZN’s political parties for their commitment to ensuring free, fair and peaceful elections come May 29. Dube-Ncube said this at the briefing event organised by the Independent Election Commission of South Africa (IEC) at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre (ICC) on April 17.

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“We have made major strides in establishing peace and tolerance as a way of life in our province. As we celebrate the 30th anniversary of our democratic breakthrough, we commend the maturity displayed by various political parties through the signing of this pledge. Unlike most of our sister provinces, we know the brutality of political intolerance and the social devastation that this wreaks on our people. Therefore, this commitment by political parties is much more than just appending signatures to a pledge but a solemn promise to our people that they will not allow the elections to take us back to the days of instability,” said the Premier.

The premier applauded these efforts while noting the number of people who have died due to internecine political violence in KwaZulu-Natal from the late 1980s to 1994. “More than 20 000 lives were lost due to political violence in the province, and it was through the efforts of all stakeholders, including political leaders, community members, religious leaders, amakhosi and non-governmental organisations, that peace was finally achieved in KwaZulu-Natal,” added the premier.

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The premier also attributed the province’s performance in terms of economic gains to the peace and stability in KZN and urged citizens to attain it beyond the elections. “Ours has been one of the best-performing provinces in terms of service delivery and investment attraction, to mention but a few. This confirms the correctness of our long-held view that peace and development are inseparable and that one cannot be achieved in the absence of the other. Therefore, all of us have the responsibility to strive for peace, stability and tolerance, even beyond the elections, so that our province can continue on its upward and forward growth trajectory,” concluded the premier.

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