Cape Town – President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) election advert depicting a burning national flag as “treasonous and unacceptable”.
He criticised the advert, which was intended to symbolise a bleak future without the DA, saying that burning the flag, a symbol of unity, was despicable and disrespectful.
“The flag of our country is a sacred, sacred article in the life of our country. It is that flag that unites all of us,” the president said.
“It is despicable that a political party can, as it seeks to express itself, burn the symbol of our unity, the symbol of our existence as a nation.
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 dispeakable.
Any organisation that commits such an act, especially in the name of political expediency, is… pic.twitter.com/6TbnxQWlz5
— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) May 7, 2024
“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 really the most despicable political act that anyone can embark upon, particularly when they are campaigning for votes,” Ramaphosa said while speaking to the media on Tuesday.
The DA sparked controversy over the weekend with its latest election advert, which predicts the ANC’s loss of majority vote after 30 years and highlights a “disastrous” coalition between the ANC, EFF, and MK party.
🚨 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
However, the depiction of the burning South African flag in the ad drewn criticism on social media.
Former public protector Thuli Madonsela expressed understanding of the message’s intent but criticised the use of the flag, suggesting alternative symbols could have been used.
I fully understand the intention but there could have been other metaphoric symbols to communicate the message.
I just can’t help a nagging feeling that the designer of the campaign may be harbouring unconscious rage against our flag and what it symbolises🇿🇦— Prof Thuli Madonsela #KindnessBuilds (@ThuliMadonsela3) May 5, 2024
“I fully understand the intention but there could have been other metaphoric symbols to communicate the message. I just can’t help a nagging feeling that the designer of the campaign may be harbouring unconscious rage against our flag and what it symbolises,” Madonsela write on X.
Despite backlash, DA leader John Steenhuisen defended the ad, clarifying that the visuals represent a warning of the future under the speculated coalition rather than the DA’s desired outcome.
“What you will see in this election advert is a symbolic representation of the future that awaits South Africa if people do not vote for the DA.
“It is a warning of what this country’s future will look like under a Doomsday Coalition between the ANC, the EFF, and perhaps also MK and mercenary small parties like the Patriotic Alliance,” The Citizen quoted Steenhuisen as saying while delivering his speech at the launch of the election advert in Johannesburg on Sunday.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
