The President of Congress of the People (COPE), Mosiuoa Lekota, has welcomed the forthcoming merger of Agang SA and the Democratic Alliance.

Lekota says that COPE has for some time advocated a closer working relationship between all opposition political parties.

“Soon after the formation of COPE, we were right at the forefront of reorganising opposition politics to make sure that we do not work against each other, but rather with each other, especially on areas where there is clear agreement,” says Lekota.

“We have recently taken this commitment a step further with the establishment of the Collective for Democracy, where the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), the Freedom Front Plus (FF+)and the United Christian Democratic Party (UCDP) agreed to co-operate on 20 areas where the parties have taken a similar position,” says Lekota.

He continues that COPE welcomes every move that strengthens the opposition and promises a change in government. As the late Nelson Mandela had envisaged, the realignment of South African politics has begun in earnest.

“This development (merger) is good for South Africa, and will go a long way in promoting multi-party democracy with a robust opposition and change of ineffective government,” says Lekota.