Thousands of dissidents in the African National Congress met Saturday to pave the way for a new South African party, in a bitter split from the movement that led the anti-apartheid struggle.

Former defence minister Mosiuoa Lekota opened the convention with a traditional ANC chant `Amandla!` -- or `Power!` -- and led the crowd in cheering, `Forward with the convention, forward!`

`We have no apology to anybody. We have decided and we are ready to fight as messengers and representatives of hope for the people,` he said.

`We have taken sides with the people.`

The convention, coming just months before general elections, marks a dramatic shake-up in South Africa`s politics, which has been dominated by the ANC since the end of apartheid in 1994, when it brought Nelson Mandela to the country`s presidency.

The rift within the party tore into the open after the ANC leadership decided to force Mandela`s successor Thabo Mbeki to resign as president in September, months before the end of his mandate.

Lekota resigned as defence minister in solidarity with Mbeki, though he has taken pains to insist that his breakaway movement is not solely a gathering of loyalists to the former president.

An overflow crowd of nearly 7,000 people showed up for the convention, organisers said. Among the political heavyweights there were the main opposition leader Helen Zille and the former leader of the powerful COSATU labour group Willy Madisha.

A video link was set up in a Johannesburg stadium so that people who could not get into the hall could monitor the talks, some of which were also broadcast on television and radio.

Lekota and his allies, including the former premier of the rich Gauteng province Mbhazima Shilowa, say they will craft policies for a new party that they plan to launch on December 16.

Topping the agenda is creating a platform on how to help the poor in a country where 43 percent of the population lives in poverty.

Lekota`s group has already started making public appeals for donations ahead of the elections just months away, when ANC leader Jacob Zuma is widely expected to become president.

Zuma seized control of the ANC last December, pushing Mbeki out of the party`s top spot. Earlier this year he had vowed that the ANC would `rule until Jesus comes back.`

The ANC won more than two thirds of the votes in the last election and controls a strong majority in parliament. The main opposition Democratic Alliance, perceived as a party for whites, poses little serious threat.

The dissident movement could emerge as a more credible challenger. No one expects the new party, which has yet to be named, would unseat the ANC.

They could, however, win enough seats to strip the ANC of its super-majority in parliament, forcing the party to negotiate at least on major issues.

`This convention could be a turning point in our democracy,` Democratic Alliance leader Helen Zille told the crowd.

The dissident movement has raised tensions across the country. Zuma supporters have disrupted rallies by Lekota`s supporters, chanting `kill Shilowa, kill Lekota.`

Police have tightened security around the convention bureau, while warning that they would take action against political messages that cross into hate speech.

Zuma has planned his own rally this weekend in Soweto. The dissidents had planned to issue the final statement from their convention on Sunday, but Shilowa said on Saturday evening that they would wrap up their talks later in the night.