The Independent Electoral Commission have issued clarity that the political party Congress of the People, COPE has not been deregistered.

Media reports on Wednesday suggested that the party has been taken off the list of registered parties ahead of the 2024 general elections. The reports come after the expulsion of deputy president Willie Madisha and its elections secretary Mzwandile Hleko.

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The pair wrote to the IEC informing it of Cope’s deregistration as a company with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC). But not as a party.

COPE IS NOT DEREGISTERED AS A POLITICAL PARTY

“I don’t know where you got that information, the electoral commission has not deregistered COPE as a political party,” IEC Spokesperson Kate Bapela told Sunday World.

COPE has been registered with the IEC for 14 years. This is after it was formed in 2008 by former ANC members with the aim of contesting the 2009 elections. But in recent years, the party has been fraught with infighting.
COPE leader Mosiuoa Lekota announced in August 2022 that his deputy, Willie Madisha, had been suspended. But Madisha in turn said the suspension was illegitimate.
Havoc also rocked the party again earlier in 2023 when a media briefing ended in a fistfight between rival factions.