New Party in South Africa to Boycott Opening of Parliament

The official results from national elections last month just don’t add up for Mbalenhle Mthethwa, a loyal adherent of a new political party led by Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s former president.

“The elections were not free and fair,” she said, echoing the stolen-election narrative advanced by Mr. Zuma. Ms. Mthethwa, a 38-year-old chef, lives in a township near the coastal city of Durban and has been out of work for the past four years.

Mr. Zuma, 82, whose nine years as president were marred by allegations of corruption and looting of state coffers, has taken a page from the playbook of populist leaders of recent years — notably in the United States and Brazil.

Vote-rigging claims in other nations have resulted in chaos, and South Africans will get a first look at how things might unfold on Friday, with Mr. Zuma’s party, uMkhonto weSizwe, known as M.K., vowing to boycott the first sitting of the newly elected Parliament.

The boycott would not prevent Parliament from accomplishing its goal that day — electing a president and a speaker. But it would provide a high-profile stage for the party to express its anger.

Mr. Zuma’s party actually outperformed the expectations of analysts and political rivals: It won nearly 15 percent of the vote nationally, making it the third-largest party in Parliament, and 45 percent in Mr. Zuma’s home province, KwaZulu-Natal.