MK Party tells its backers: no intimidation, no violence, no vote-buying

The uMkhonto weSizwe Party has told its own supporters to campaign peacefully and respectfully, and has named the conduct it says it will not tolerate: intimidation, violence, misinformation, discrimination and voter inducements.

The instruction was posted on the party’s official X account on 4 November 2026, alongside the hashtag #DumelaMoagisane and a photograph. It is addressed to the party’s own people rather than to its opponents, and it sets a standard the party will now be measured against on the campaign trail.

In the same post the party asked its supporters to respect other parties, their supporters and their campaign materials. It framed the appeal around the integrity of the election itself, saying the aim was to uphold democracy through peaceful and respectful campaigning.

That is a notable thing for a party to put in writing about its own base. The five items on the list are the things South Africans most often complain about at election time: pressure at the door, trouble at a rally, false claims about a rival, and money or goods offered in exchange for a vote. By naming them, the party has given voters and electoral officials a written benchmark to hold it to.

The post does not say what prompted it. It does not name a province, a ward, a rally or an incident, and it records no allegation against any other party. It is a general instruction to supporters, issued in the party’s own voice, and it stands on its own as a statement of how uMkhonto weSizwe says its campaign will be run.

What the post does not carry is equally plain. It does not describe any enforcement mechanism, any disciplinary process for members who break the list, or any route for the public to report a breach. Nothing in the material indicates that the party has set up a complaints channel, and nothing in it suggests the instruction came from the Electoral Commission of South Africa or any other authority. It is the party’s own undertaking.

The photograph published with the post is not described in the material, so this paper cannot say what it shows.

For voters, the value of a statement like this lies in what happens next. Campaigns are where these commitments are tested, and the test is specific: whether a party’s supporters leave a rival’s posters alone, whether a meeting in a hall stays open to people who disagree, and whether anyone hands out money at a gate. A written instruction from the national account is a start. It is not a record of a campaign that has been run that way.

The party has put its name to a clear list. It has asked its supporters to protect the integrity of the election. South Africans who watch the campaign unfold now have something concrete to check the party against, and the party has something concrete to answer for.

The Enquirer has asked the uMkhonto weSizwe Party what practical steps accompany the instruction, including whether any disciplinary or reporting process exists for supporters who breach it. This article will be updated with the party’s answer.