3 November 2008
Johannesburg — A breakaway faction of South Africa's governing African National Congress (ANC) is due to register as a party.
The South African Democratic Congress is formed from ex-ANC members who left the party after former President Thabo Mbeki stepped down in September.
At a national convention at the weekend the new party accused the ANC of undermining South Africa's democracy.
ANC leader Jacob Zuma has said he was confident his party would win next year's elections.
The South African Democratic Congress (SADC) is being led by Mosiuoa Lekota, the former defence minister and ANC chairman.
His deputy will be Mbhazima Shilowa, the former premier of Gauteng Province.
The SADC is expected to officially register as a party with the Independent Electoral Commission on Monday.
Mr Zuma questioned the motives of the ANC dissidents forming the new party and called them "bigamists" for seeking to join up with opposition parties so soon after leaving the ANC.
Meanwhile, the SADC leaders have said they "do not underestimate the work that lies ahead" as they seek to win the election next year.
Mr Shilowa told the Sunday Independent newspaper that his faction were "not doing this just to be another opposition".
On Saturday, more than 6,000 delegates attended a conference in Johannesburg to discuss establishing the party.
SADC's leader, Mosiuoa Lekota, accused the ANC of abusing its power for personal gain and said his group was "ready to fight as messengers and representatives of hope for the people".
The party's launch means that the campaigning for next year's elections has already begun, though it is unclear whether SADC's policies will be significantly different from those of the ANC.
The infighting stems from a power struggle between former president Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma, who defeated Mr Mbeki to become party leader last December.
Mr Mbeki stood down in September after a judge suggested he may have interfered in the prosecution of Mr Zuma on corruption charges. Mr Mbeki strongly denies the claim.
His ousting led ex-defence minister Mosiuoa Lekota and other loyalists to quit the ANC in protest.
Mr Lekota officially resigned from the party on Friday.
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