Political pluralism is one of the most fundamental and priceless ingredients of electoral democracy. Multiplicity of political parties creates an aura of stability and tranquility in any democratic dispensation. A multi-party political dispensation affords citizens an opportunity to make informed political choices. In a free and just society, citizens are at liberty to choose and associate with any political party of their choice. Freedom of political association serves as a guarantor for a tranquil, stable and legitimate government. Humans are a rationale species that prefers to choose from a wide range of options and alternatives. Freedom is an indispensable component of rationalism without which humanity cannot thrive and prosper.
Parliament is an eminent platform for political parties to showcase their intellectual brilliance and sophistry. Unfortunately, the EFF and its supreme commander Julius Malema are observably not swayed by that. The EFF is evidently pushing the edges of an envelope when it comes to parliamentary integrity and sanctity. Last month EFF MPs once again behaved like juvenile miscreants and disrupted proceedings in parliament. Since June last year, the EFF has belligerently disrupted discursive debates in parliament more than five times. Shortly after the 2014 general elections, the EFF publicly vowed “to make Jacob Zuma’s presidency ungovernable”. Malema’s toxic obsession with Zuma’s downfall is now taking a huge toll on the health of our constitutional democracy.
Malema and his EFF sidekicks have notoriously turned parliament into a dishonourable circus. The EFF’s parliamentary strategy is modeled on pure anarchy, irrationality and comical exuberance.
It has now become customary for the EFF to howl, heckle and shout at Zuma whenever he addresses parliament. We are fast becoming a nation that tolerates hooliganism, anarchy and belligerence within our public discourse. The EFF’s disruptive stunts in parliament are polluting the moral fibre of our national norms and standards. Primitive anarchy, idiotic showmanship and howling have come to represent a new demagogic dawn at parliament. For the first time post 1994, our nation is compelled to take a bold stance against the raging flames of anarchy.
Gone are the days when parliamentary debates were deliciously spiced with intellectualism, reverence and dignity. Gone are the days when parliament was viewed as an institution that embodies the dreams and aspirations of the nation.
The EFF’s anarchic tendencies have robbed parliament of its institutional sanctity, reverence and dignity. I appeal to all dignified MPs to shun anarchy and slam the parliamentary door on demagogues, anarchists and belligerents. Our nation must not allow the EFF to drag and thrust our democracy into the darkest shadows of anarchy.
Elvis Masoga
Political analyst
