Court rules COPE name is cool

The Pretoria High Court ruled on Friday that a breakaway faction of the African National Congress could name itself the Congress of the People, dismissing a legal challenge by the ruling party.

The ANC has been rocked by a wave of defections to the new party, which was founded by a group of senior leaders loyal to ousted former South African President Thabo Mbeki.

The ANC had asked the Pretoria High Court to prevent the new party from using its current name. The Congress of the People also refers to a 1955 political summit that laid the foundations of the anti-apartheid movement.

The ANC said it would appeal against the ruling.

"The ANC does not believe that this name should be appropriated for the exclusive use of any political party, particularly one that had no involvement in that historic event," it said in a statement.

The judgment came two days before COPE was to begin a conference to choose a leader and set out its policies and strategy for general elections, which are expected in March 2009.