Defectors from the ANC will face their first electoral test on Wednesday when their breakaway party runs in municipal by-elections across South Africa.

Although not officially launched until next week, the Congress of the People (Cope) is vying for many of the 41 vacancies up for grabs in the vote, party general secretary Charlotte Lobe told reporters.

"We are contesting by-elections in many of the provinces where we have a particular strength," while working to build the party's presence in other regions, Lobe said.

The election commission said 159 candidates from 23 parties would contest the polls in five of the country's nine provinces.

Most of the seats were emptied by former ANC councillors who defected to join the new party.

Cope members are running as independents, since the organisation is locked in a court battle with the ANC, preventing them from officially registering as a party.

Cope will launch on 16 December

The breakaway was formed by top ANC officials disgruntled by the party leadership's decision to force former president Thabo Mbeki to resign in September.

The party holds its official launch on 16 December, and Lobe said 428 000 people have already become members.

The main election battle will take place in the Western Cape Province, which has more than half of the empty councillor seats.

The province has always been a sore point for the ANC, which has never won an outright majority there. It is currently run by a coalition led by the main opposition Democratic Alliance.

The outcome of the vote will be the first indication of public sentiment ahead of general elections in 2009, when Cope plans to challenge the ANC, which has dominated politics since the fall of apartheid in 1994.

"It is certainly going to be the first test for Cope," said Dirk Kotze, political analyst with the University of South Africa.

Eight seats up for grabs

The by-elections will have the most influence in Cape Town, which is governed by a fragile coalition of smaller parties. With eight seats up for grabs, that coalition could change, Kotze said.

The ANC is not fielding any candidates in Cape Town, after it missed a deadline for registering candidates.

"That makes it a double blow for them," said Kotze. "It is seen as a bit of disorganisation internally, it is such an important event and they actually missed it."

Turnout for special elections is normally low, making them only a weak barometer of the political mood ahead of next year's national polls, when the ANC is still expected to score a victory, bringing its leader Jacob Zuma as the next president.

But a strong showing would give a boost to Cope ahead of its official launch on December 16, when it will also unveil its policy platform.

Cope's policy chief Smuts Ngonyama said the party's policies would focus on creating jobs in a country where unemployment is at officially at 23.1 percent but believed to be nearly 40 percent.

"We cannot build this nation and make it formidable if we don't deal with the question of unemployment, production and education," Ngonyama said.

He also said Cope would step up the fight against Aids while bolstering the police force so that "all South Africans can live in safety," he said.

About 5.5 million people live with HIV in South Africa, which also suffers one of the world's highest crime rates, with an average of about 50 murders committed every day.

AFP