UDM's Holomisa eyes more seats in Parliament to 'make more noise inside the House'

JOHANNESBURG - With just 37 days left before the national and provincial elections, the United Democratic Movement (UDM) is on the ground convincing South Africans to vote for the party. 

Its leader, Bantu Holomisa, led an election campaign in Soweto on Monday as he set his eyes on growing the party’s presence in the National Assembly.

The UDM, which is one of the first African National Congress (ANC) breakaway parties, has seen a steady decline in votes in previous elections.

In the 2019 polls, the UDM’s support dipped to 0.45% after scoring 1% of the vote in the 2014 national and provincial elections.

But Holomisa said he was confident that his party would grow from its current two seats in the National Assembly. 

"We want more seats so that we can make more noise inside the House [Parliament] but I’m satisfied with the way we’ve performed so far."

In a bid to convince South Africans to vote for the UDM, Holomisa handed out T-shirts to commuters at the Bara taxi rank in Soweto. 

He was seen asking several elderly citizens how they feel about the ANC government’s work in the last 30 years.