The race for the presidency throne is on, and political parties are up in arms trying to win as many votes as possible to gain majority seats in parliament, which will be determined by the outcome of this year’s elections, set to take place 21 days from now.
Political parties have also released their election campaign adverts for television and social media applications.
The DA’s advert has, however, rubbed people the wrong way as it shows a national flag burning into ashes before it is fully restored at the end.
Among those who have spoken against the burning of the national flag is the resident of the Republic of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa who lambasted the act, commenting:
“With regards to burning of the flag even in a political advert, that is treasonous. The flag of our country is a sacred article in the life of our country. It is that flag that unites all of us. It is despicable that a political party, can as it seeks to express itself, go and burn the symbol of our unity, the symbol of our existence as a nation. I think it is treasonous because anybody particularly an organisation that does something like that for political expediency should really be ashamed of themselves because it is the most despicable political act that anyone can embark upon.
He continued, “Particularly when they are campaigning for votes because you’re voting now for a party that wants to destroy South Africa, that wants to destroy the symbol that unites all of us. What will you be voting for because all we want is to build South Africa to unite the people around the flag. People died for the flag of the nation, people rally around the flag of the nation and it is about us. So, they are destroying that unity, that identity that we all have, so it is totally unacceptable.”
WATCH: DA’s election advert that left many concerned.
🚨 This election is about survival! Watch the DA’s new TV advert. Your vote can stop a corrupt coalition between the ANC, the violent EFF and the Zuma faction.
A strong DA can anchor a new caring government to create more jobs and get things done. Unite to #RescueSA. 🇿🇦#DAtvAd pic.twitter.com/2PiEcp8W2t
— Democratic Alliance (@Our_DA) May 5, 2024
WATCH: Cyril Ramaphosa’s response to the DA advert.
The burning of the National Flag in a political advertisement is treasonous. The National Flag is a sacred symbol of our unity and existence as a nation and to burn it is despicable.
Any organisation that commits such an act, especially in the name of political expediency, is… pic.twitter.com/QxpYy07jM4
— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) May 7, 2024
When asked by the SABC news if he would defend the burning of the national flag in court, the DA leader John Steenhuisen responded:
“It’s a political advert and political adverts are designed to be uncomfortable and to make people think. The symbolism of that particular advert was that our country is on fire, we have got 42% of our people who don’t have work, 84 people being murdered everyday, 7 out of 10 young people can not get a job, we’ve got load shedding.
He added, “Our country is literally on fire and we need to do something to fix it. The advert shows exactly what that fixing requires, it requires people to vote for the DA and that’s why at the end of the advert, the flag is restored to its full glory giving people the call to action in this election.”
Also see: President Ramaphosa goes back to kissing grandmothers ahead of election day
