At time of writing it is simply too early for concrete election predictions, but one outcome emerging pretty clearly is that Jacob Zuma's MK party is a political player that cannot be ignored.

From virtually the moment of its inception in December 2023, the uMkhonto Wesizwe party launched by former president Jacob Zuma has been embroiled in chaos.

There have been legal disputes centering on copyright issues around the party name. There have been legal disputes relating to the eligibility of Zuma to be elected to the National Assembly. There have been legal disputes relating to the battle for supremacy between Zuma and the man at one stage declared to be party leader, Jabulani Khumalo, who has now been ousted.

As things stand, the day after voting, it is still totally unclear who actually leads this party, who they would send to Parliament, or who they might put forward as provincial premier candidates.

The role of a figure like Duduzile Zuma -- Jacob Zuma's daughter, whose video footage suggests requires an isiZulu translator to address party events -- is also ambiguous. And her apparent lack of ease in the language is relevant, because the MK party has been branded by some as "ANC yamaZulu", or "ANC of the Zulu people": namely, a fundamentally Zulu-interest breakaway.

The levels of disarray around this political outfit, together with its distressingly anti-constitutional outlook, have...