President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned the Democratic Alliance's (DA) election advertisement, which depicts the burning of the national flag, labelling it as treasonous.
The DA released the contentious advert on Sunday, portraying the burning of a South African flag to symbolise the nation's deteriorating state and warning of further decline unless the party is supported in the upcoming elections.
The advert has been met with mixed reactions from the public.
Ramaphosa criticised the advertisement sharply.
"The burning of the national flag in a political advertisement is treasonous. Our country's flag is a sacred symbol in our national life," he stated.
"It is despicable for a political party to destroy a symbol of our unity and existence as a nation."
The President addressed the media on Tuesday from the sidelines of the opening of the expanded Home Affairs office in Mokopane, Limpopo.
The controversy has spilled over to social media, with some citizens expressing their dismay at the DA's actions, accusing the party of disrespect and misrepresentation, while others said they understood the symbolism of it.
Despite the backlash, the DA defended its advertisement, stating its intention was to alert citizens to the “ongoing destruction of the country”.
It said the advert was viewed over three million times in less than 48 hours after first being aired and was in response to what it called an “ANC-EFF Doomsday Coalition”.
“Such a Doomsday Coalition between the ANC, the EFF and other looters will not only set our flag on fire. It will burn our constitutional democracy to ashes. It will burn the Rand to ashes. It will burn our economy to ashes. And it will burn our great South African dream beyond recognition,” said DA leader John Steenhuisen.
kamogelo.moichela@iol.co.za