Photo: ACM / Twitter
Photo: ACM / Twitter
Hlaudi Motsoeneng – the former SABC supremo-turned-politician – has learned that politics isn’t just a walk in the park. His African Content Movement – formed earlier this year – are contesting their first elections on the national ballot. But people haven’t been falling for his schtick.
Hlaudi Motsoeneng and the ACM
Full of hubris and determination, Hlaudi declared that he would “rule South Africa” on Election Day. He boasted that he would “ascend to the Union Buildings” in Pretoria to replace Cyril Ramaphosa. His wild promises haven’t come to fruition, surprising absolutely no-one bar Motsoeneng himself.
According to the party’s manifesto, Motsoeneng promised to distribute land. He proposed that government enter into transactions with landowners instead of expropriating land. He also vowed to improve service delivery and race relations in the country and stressed the importance of education. But no-one seems to have been listening…
Hlaudi Motsoeneng gets a reality check in the 2019 Elections
As we near the halfway point of the vote count-up, the African Content Movement are currently in the bottom 11 parties on the 48-name ballot. Hlaudi Motsoeneng’s new project has failed to cause anything like a stir.
As leader of the party, he is projected to receive a paltry 0.02% of the vote. With him chalking up just 1 580 votes at this stage, the divisive showman looks like he will struggle to crack the 3 000 mark. He doesn’t feature in the top 10 parties of any South African province, capping a pretty miserable performance for the ACM.
How the new minor parties compare to ACM
Perhaps a few thousand votes is nothing to be ashamed for a party that’s only been existent for a few months. But the other “new kids on the block” have managed to put Hlaudi to shame.
Jimmy Manyi’s African Transformation Movement and Patricia de Lille’s Good Party – formed around the same time as Motsoeneng’s latest vanity project – are on course to get themselves seats in Parliament. The same cannot be said for ACM. But will Hlaudi disappear with his tail between his legs? We somehow doubt that…
“Those who don’t believe, when I ascend to the Union Buildings they going to collapse” ACM President #HlaudiMotsoeneng pic.twitter.com/XQj4Z7hCXm
— #TheLordOfTheMedia (@samkelemaseko) May 5, 2019
