BOSA file photo
Build One South Africa says it will be on the ballot paper, come the election on May 29.
This announcement was made on Thursday by leader, Mmusi Maimane, who had earlier challenged the electoral requirement of a minimum number of signatures for the party to be on the ballot paper.
He spoke outside the offices of the IEC on Thursday morning, where continued to rail against the election rules that he said make it difficult for new parties.
"BOSA, in 2024 will be on all national ballots, including the South African ballot. We are today submitting over 140 000 signatures to the IEC," he said to applause from a group of supporters on the roadside.
Maimaine also said it was an important moment for his party that went to court to challenge what he said were "burdens" placed on new parties through the requirements which he said favoured parties in Parliament.
In a stern message to the IEC, Maimane said that BOSA would continue to challenge what he believed were unfair rules.
"You can set up many rules. You can make it difficult, but we are going to prove you wrong at every step. We will fight you head-to-head and we are going to challenge the parties that sit on the status quo," he added.
Meanwhile, during question time, Maimane acknowledged the importance of funding for political parties, with the IEC reporting that BOSA had received around R8 million in donations.
"For new political parties, the struggle continues, to say you must go out and accrue the funding that is required and even after that you still have to keep going.
"I'm permanently on a fund-raising train. That is why we launched the online platform and that's why we do all those things," Maimane added.
BOSA will be on all ballots after gathering 140 000 signature submissions
— BOSA (@BuildOneSA) March 7, 2024
Over the past four weeks, our activists, candidates and supporters have been to all corners of the country asking South Africans for a mandate to stand for election on 29 May. Today we can announce we have… pic.twitter.com/LpCeVnSMBZ
