Carl Niehaus and members of the African Radical Economic Transformation Alliance (Areta) have registered their movement as a political party ahead of the general elections in 2024.
Niehaus and national secretary Nkosentsha Shezi were this morning at the IEC headquarters in Centurion where they registered the party in accordance with the provisions of Section 16 (1) (a) of the Electoral Commissions Act of 1996.
Speaking to The Star following the registration process, the party president said he and his team are confident that they will be receiving a certificate from the IEC within two months of having registered with the body.
“This morning we submitted all the necessary documentation needed for the completion of our registration. We are confident that we will be recognised in the next few weeks as a fully fledged political organisation as we have complied with all the requirement and paid the registration fee of R5 000 to kick-start the process.
Areta was formed in January after the former ANC spokesperson was slapped with a suspension notice from the ANC, pending disciplinary action after he allegedly brought the ANC into disrepute.
This is after the ruling party said it had more than once advised him that his public statements and social media posts were “unbecoming of someone in this high office”.
Niehaus said over the past few months and few weeks leading up to the decision to register Areta, he consulted widely with members of the party, supporters and other political parties and received the mandate that resulted in registering with the IEC.
“We have consulted widely and everywhere we went political parties such as the EFF, ATM, UDM and many others encouraged us to register as a political party. We were encouraged by the support we received from all corners of society and now want to challenge the political landscape as a political part as we approach the 2024 general elections,” he said.
With the country seeing an up-shoot of new political parties clamouring for the minds and hearts of the South African voters, Niehaus said he was not bothered by an over-supply of political parties in the country’s body politics.
This comes just a few days after another new political party called Arise SA was launched in Johannesburg on Wednesday.
“We are not measuring ourselves against other political parties as we have a strong ideological base which is radical economic transformation as the centre of our ideology. We are different and bring something totally different to the political landscape that we are seeking to enter ahead of the elections.
“We are also inspired by the encouragement from our supporters and other political parties who have encouraged us over the past few months, as they were bold in saying they want us to be part of the political landscape so we can together shape the political landscape,” he added.
It is now up to the IEC to approve or decline the party’s registration, with Niehaus saying he was confident of a positive outcome which should be pronounced within two months of this process.