Congress of the People:2008–2014
Establishment
In the remainder of 2008,Shilowa and Lekota,known to the press by the portmanteau Shikota,spearheaded the launch of a new political party peopled by Mbeki's supporters in the ANC. Shilowa formally announced their plans to establish a political party on 1 November 2008,at a national convention in Sandton, [53] [54] and the following week he announced that the party would be registered as the Congress of the People (COPE). [55] [56]
Though he was named as the party's interim deputy chairperson, [57] Shilowa quickly eclipsed Lekota and Mluleki George as the face of the new party,leading to rumors that he might become its leader. [58] However,when COPE held its inaugural national congress in Bloemfontein in December 2008,the leadership was elected by "consensus" rather than vote,and Shilowa became the party's deputy president,under Lekota as party president. [59] [60] He was officially the party's first deputy president,with businesswoman Lynda Odendaal named as second deputy president. [60]
2009 general election
COPE contested the April 2009 general election with Mvume Dandala as its presidential candidate. Although Shilowa denied rumors that he and Lekota competed bitterly for the presidential candidate slot, [61] the Mail &Guardian reported that his supporters were key in driving the eventual selection of Dandala over Lekota. [62] Pursuant to the election,Lekota was elected to a seat in the National Assembly,the lower house of the South African Parliament,and he was named as the party's chief whip. He said that COPE would seek to become a "patriotic opposition party that would raise issues with the ruling party in a mature and fair manner". [63]
Factionalism and exit
During its first year in Parliament,COPE was severely undermined by factional leadership battles,as Shilowa's supporters campaigned for him to replace Lekota as COPE president. [64] [65] Internal divisions were visible by the end of 2009, [66] and the party's national congress in Centurion in May 2010 collapsed after Shilowa-aligned delegates purported to pass a motion of no-confidence in Lekota. [67] In October 2010,Lekota's camp resolved to suspend Shilowa from his position as COPE chief whip and accounting officer,alleging that he had been implicated in financial mismanagement. [68] [69] However,his suspension was declared invalid by the Western Cape High Court,which said that he had unlawfully been denied the right to respond to the charges against him. [70] [71] After the court ruling,Lekota denied that Shilowa had been removed at all,saying that he had merely been relieved of his financial responsibilities. [70]
In December 2010,another COPE national congress devolved into chaos;Shilowa declared that the congress had elected him to succeed Lekota as party president,but Lekota strongly disagreed. [72] Over the next few months,both Lekota and Shilowa claimed simultaneously to lead COPE. [73] [74] In January 2011,Lekota's camp purported to suspend Shilowa,and several of his closest allies,from membership in COPE. [75] Shilowa was subsequently subjected to an internal disciplinary hearing,which concluded in February 2011 with his putative expulsion from the party;the disciplinary panel –constituted by Lekota's supporters –found that he had seriously mismanaged the finances of COPE's parliamentary caucus. Shilowa,who had refused to participate in the disciplinary process,denied the allegations. [76] [77]
Pursuant to the putative expulsion,Lekota's faction notified the Speaker of the National Assembly that Shilowa was no longer authorized to represent the party in Parliament, [78] but Speaker Max Sisulu did not accept the notification,saying that he could not adjudicate COPE's internal leadership controversies. [79] Later the same week,Lekota obtained an interim court order interdicting Shilowa from attending Parliament or claiming to lead COPE while a court heard a pending lawsuit between the two factions. [80] In the interim,Shilowa and his supporters boycotted COPE's campaign in the May 2011 local elections. [81] [82] The lawsuit finally concluded in October 2013,when the Johannesburg High Court upheld Lekota's claim to the COPE leadership,ruling that the December 2010 congress had been inquorate and therefore was incompetent to elect Shilowa as president. [83]
In January 2014,COPE held its next national congress,defeating another lawsuit by Shilowa supporters who sought to interdict the congress;Willie Madisha was elected to replace Shilowa as Lekota's deputy. [84] Ahead of the May 2014 general election,Shilowa announced publicly that he would support the campaign of the United Democratic Movement (UDM),another ANC breakaway party,though he did not himself officially join the UDM. [85]
