Freedom Front Plus
The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus; Afrikaans: Vryheidsfront Plus, VF Plus) is a right-wing political party in South Africa that was formed (as the Freedom Front) in 1994. It is led by Pieter Groenewald.
Freedom Front Plus Vryheidsfront Plus (Afrikaans) | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Pieter Groenewald |
| Chairperson | Anton Alberts |
| Spokesperson | Pieter Swart |
| Chief whip | Corné Mulder |
| CEO | Pieter de Necker |
| Founder | Constand Viljoen |
| Founded | 1 March 1994 (as Freedom Front) |
| Merger of |
|
| Split from | Afrikaner Volksfront |
| Headquarters | Highveld Office Park Charles de Gaulle Crescent Centurion Gauteng |
| Youth wing | Freedom Front Plus Youth |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Right-wing[5][6] |
| National affiliation | Multi-Party Charter |
| International affiliation | Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization |
| Colours | Green Dark orange |
| Slogan | Daar is hoop! (There is hope!) |
| National Assembly seats | 10 / 400 |
| NCOP seats | 3 / 90 |
| Provincial Legislatures | 11 / 430 |
| City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality | 17 / 214 |
| Cape Town City Council | 4 / 231 |
| Website | |
| www | |
Policies edit
Its current stated policy positions include abolishing affirmative action, replacing it with merit based appointments,[7] and being firmly against the proposed expropriation without compensation land reform movement to protect the rights and interests of minorities, especially Afrikaners[8] and Afrikaans-speaking Coloureds.[9] The party also supports greater self-determination for minorities throughout South Africa, and expressly has adopted Cape Independence as an official party position.[10]
Foreign policy edit
The party is critical of what they regard as South Africa's contradictory foreign policy under the governing African National Congress (ANC).[11] The Freedom Front supports the strengthening of relations with countries that "promote self-determination within their own borders"[11] and countries with whom South Africa has strong existing trade ties.[11] The party has called on South Africa to criticize Russia's invasion of Ukraine.[12][13] During the 2023 Israel–Hamas war the party expressed support for Israel.[14]
History edit
Origins as the Freedom Front (1994–2003) edit
The Freedom Front was founded on 1 March 1994 by members of the Afrikaner community under Constand Viljoen, after he had left the Afrikaner Volksfront amidst disagreements. Seeking to achieve his goals through electoral means, Viljoen registered the Freedom Front with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) on 4 March 1994 to take part in the April 1994 general elections (This date has also been given as 7 March).[citation needed] On 12 March 1994 Viljoen handed in a list of candidates for the FF to the IEC, confirming that his party would take part in the elections.
In the election, under the leadership of Viljoen, the Freedom Front received 2.2% of the national vote (with 424,555 votes cast), earning nine seats in the National Assembly, and 3.3% (with 639,643 votes cast) of the combined vote to the nine provincial legislatures. This suggested that many Afrikaners had split their vote. The party performed the best in the rural areas of the former Transvaal and Orange Free State, and was noted by the new deputy president Thabo Mbeki as representing possibly as much as half the Afrikaner voting population in these areas, with the strongest support among farmers and the working class.[15]
Freedom Front support would gradually melt away in the coming years, as the party was strung along in ultimately fruitless negotiations with the African National Congress (ANC) to create a Volkstaat making the party lose its importance. It would also receive increased competition from new parties such as the Afrikaner Eenheidsbeweging. In the 1999 election their support dropped to 0.8% (127,217 votes cast) with three seats in the National Assembly and between 1 and 2% in their stronghold provinces. This represented a respectable portion of the Afrikaner vote, but nowhere near earlier levels. The party's support remained relatively stable in all national elections held during the next twenty years.[citation needed]
In 2001, Viljoen handed over the leadership of the Freedom Front to Pieter Mulder.[citation needed]
Formation of the FF+ and early years (2003–2016) edit
This section needs additional citations for verification. (November 2021) |
In 2003, shortly before the 2004 general election, the Conservative Party, the Afrikaner Eenheidsbeweging and the Freedom Front decided to contest the election as a single entity under the name Freedom Front Plus (FF+), led by Mulder. Later, also the Federal Alliance joined the VF+/FF+.
Under Mulder's leadership the party's support remained relatively stable.
In the 2004 general election, support for the Freedom Front Plus rose slightly to 0.89% (139,465 votes cast). The party won one seat in most of the provincial legislatures, and four seats in the National Assembly.
In the 2006 municipal elections, the Freedom Front Plus received 1% of the popular vote (252,253 votes cast).
In the 2009 general election, the party received 0.83% (146,796 votes cast) and retained its four seats in the National Assembly but lost its seats in the provincial legislatures of North West, Mpumalanga and Northern Cape. After the elections, the Freedom Front's leader Pieter Mulder was appointed as Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries by the new President Jacob Zuma.
In the 2014 general election, the FF Plus increased its vote slightly to 0.9%. It retained its 4 MPs, and also regained a seat in the North West.[16]
The party also enjoyed consistent landslide victories in the Afrikaner enclave Orania.[17]
Along with other parties, the FF Plus entered into coalition with the Democratic Alliance (DA) after the 2016 municipal elections to govern Johannesburg, Tshwane and several other municipalities.
Groenewald leadership and resurgence (2016–present) edit
In 2016, Pieter Groenewald took over leadership of the FF Plus. He oversaw a pivot of the party away from being an exclusive abode for Afrikaners to that of one for all minorities, with a special focus on Afrikaans-speaking minorities.[18] This was highlighted when the FF Plus and the Bruin Bemagtiging Beweging (Brown Movement) – an interest group focused on Coloureds led by Peter Marais, the former premier of the Western Cape[19] – formed an official alliance.[20] This ultimately led to Marais being elected as the party's candidate for premier of the Western Cape for the 2019 elections.[21]
2019 national and provincial elections edit
FF Plus voter support increased substantially in the 2019 general election, with the party growing its vote total by 250,000, to 2.38% of the national vote, earning ten seats in the National Assembly. This was more than the nine seats that the old Freedom Front had received in 1994. Additionally, it gained eight seats in the provincial legislatures, for a total of eleven. In the 2014 general election, the FF Plus won seats in three provincial legislatures, in 2019, it won seats in eight out of the nine provincial legislatures. Its new supporters were largely Afrikaners and Coloured voters from the Western Cape who had previously supported the DA.[22][23]
Since the 2019 general election, the FF Plus has also won three wards from the Democratic Alliance (DA) in municipal by-elections in the North West Province and has continued to show growth in various other municipal by-elections in Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga.[24][25][26][27]
2021 municipal elections edit
In the run up to the 2021 local government elections, the FF Plus adopted Cape Independence as an official party position. They and CapeXit had a joint election campaign in the Western Cape to highlight the party's stance on Cape Independence. Over 60% of the FF Plus's ward councillors standing in the Western Cape were Coloureds, with Lennit Max being the party's candidate for mayor of Cape Town.[28] The party claims that their candidates are selected purely on merit in contrast to the DA.[29]
The FF Plus continued their gains in the Western Cape as a result, being in the kingmaker position in over 6 districts.[30]
Leaders edit
| No. | Image | Name | Term start | Term end | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Constand Viljoen | 1 March 1994 | 26 June 2001 | Chief of the South African Army (1976–1980) Chief of the South African Defence Force (1980–1985) | |
| 2 | Pieter Mulder | 26 June 2001 | 12 November 2016 | Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (2009–2014) | |
| 3 | Pieter Groenewald | 12 November 2016[31] | Incumbent | Member of the National Assembly of South Africa (2001–present) Federal Chairperson of the Freedom Front Plus (2011–2016) |
Electoral performance edit
These tables show the electoral performance for the Freedom Front Plus since the advent of democracy in 1994:
National elections edit
| Election | Total votes | Share of vote | Seats | +/- | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 424,555 | 2.17% | 9 / 400 | – | in opposition largest opposition party (1994–1996) |
| 1999 | 127,217 | 0.80% | 3 / 400 | 6 | in opposition |
| 2004 | 139,465 | 0.89% | 4 / 400 | 1 | in opposition |
| 2009 | 146,796 | 0.83% | 4 / 400 | ±0 | in opposition delivered one deputy minister |
| 2014 | 165,715 | 0.90% | 4 / 400 | ±0 | in opposition |
| 2019 | 414,864 | 2.38% | 10 / 400 | 6 | in opposition |
Provincial elections edit
| Election[32] | Eastern Cape | Free State | Gauteng | Kwazulu-Natal | Limpopo | Mpumalanga | North-West | Northern Cape | Western Cape | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | Seats | % | Seats | % | Seats | % | Seats | % | Seats | % | Seats | % | Seats | % | Seats | % | Seats | |
| 1994 | 0.8% | 0/56 | 6.0% | 2/30 | 6.2% | 5/86 | 0.5% | 0/81 | 2.2% | 1/40 | 5.7% | 2/30 | 4.6% | 1/30 | 6.0% | 2/30 | 2.1% | 1/42 |
| 1999 | 0.3% | 0/63 | 2.1% | 1/30 | 1.3% | 1/73 | 0.2% | 0/80 | 0.7% | 0/49 | 1.7% | 1/30 | 1.4% | 1/33 | 1.7% | 1/30 | 0.4% | 0/42 |
| 2004 | 0.3% | 0/63 | 2.5% | 1/30 | 1.3% | 1/73 | 0.3% | 0/80 | 0.6% | 0/49 | 1.2% | 1/30 | 1.3% | 1/33 | 1.6% | 1/30 | 0.6% | 0/42 |
| 2009 | 0.2% | 0/63 | 2.0% | 1/30 | 1.6% | 1/73 | 0.8% | 0/80 | 0.6% | 0/49 | 0.9% | 0/30 | 1.8% | 0/33 | 1.2% | 0/30 | 0.4% | 0/42 |
| 2014 | 0.3% | 0/63 | 2.1% | 1/30 | 1.2% | 1/73 | 0.2% | 0/80 | 0.7% | 0/49 | 0.8% | 0/30 | 1.7% | 1/33 | 1.1% | 0/30 | 0.6% | 0/42 |
| 2019 | 0.6% | 1/63 | 4.0% | 1/30 | 3.6% | 3/73 | 0.3% | 0/80 | 1.4% | 1/49 | 2.4% | 1/30 | 4.3% | 2/33 | 2.7% | 1/30 | 1.6% | 1/42 |
Municipal elections edit
See also edit
References edit
- ^ Lakaje, Mpho. "Running for FF Plus, Godfrey Skosana is challenging identity politics in SA". ewn.co.za. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
- ^ "Selfbeskikking is 'n politieke opsie vir die Wes-Kaap". 9 November 2020.
- ^ "ANC holds onto power in South Africa as other parties increase vote share". The Times of India. 11 May 2019.
- ^ Pillay, Verashni (11 May 2019). "South Africa is the latest country to see a democratic swing to populism over liberal politics". Quartz Africa. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- ^ "South Africa's election: Five things we've learnt". BBC News. 11 May 2019.
- ^ Magome, Mogomotsi (23 October 2019). "Leader of South Africa's leading opposition party resigns". Associated Press. Johannesburg. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
- ^ Gerber, Jan. "Elections 2021: 'Stop the decay' - FF Plus at manifesto launch". News24. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ Setumo Stone (22 April 2014). "FF+ to target DA's Afrikaner voting base". Business Day. from the original on 14 May 2014.
- ^ Verwoerd, Melanie. "Melanie Verwoerd | Is the Freedom Front Plus making the laager bigger?". News24. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ Gerber, Jan. "Elections 2021: FF Plus 'supports the strive towards independence for the Cape' - manifesto". News24. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ a b c "National Elections Manifesto 2019". Freedom Front Plus. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ Groenewald, Dr Pieter (14 March 2022). "Everyone in South Africa will feel the economic impact of the war in Ukraine". Freedom Front Plus. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ Amashabalala, Mawande (15 March 2022). "ANC government Russia's useful idiot, says FF+ leader Pieter Groenewald". SowetanLIVE. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
- ^ Hans, Bongani (15 October 2023). "SA leaders lock horns over who's to blame for Israeli-Palestinian conflict".
- ^ "Unmandated reflections - Thabo Mbeki - NEWS & ANALYSIS - Politicsweb". www.politicsweb.co.za. from the original on 18 September 2016.
- ^ "2014 Elections: Seats in Parliament". sanews.gov.za. Pretoria. 10 May 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- ^ "Orania votes for FF Plus". IOL. 23 April 2009. from the original on 18 February 2010.
- ^ "FF+ to focus on interests of minority | eNCA". www.enca.com. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ "Brown Movement not a Political Party". News24. 2013.
- ^ "Grant Marais of FF+ follows in his well-known father's political footsteps". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ "ANALYSIS: The who, why and what of the Freedom Front Plus". News24. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
- ^ Brandt, Kevin (10 May 2019). "Targeting minorities helped grow our support - FF Plus". EWN. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- ^ Mailovich, Claudi (9 May 2019). "FF Plus defies expectations". BusinessLIVE. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- ^ Sussman, Wayne (11 July 2019). "FF+ makes loud statement in Stilfontein". The Daily Maverick. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- ^ Joubert, Jan-Jan (19 September 2018). "Recent municipal ward by-elections result in losses for the DA". The Daily Maverick. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- ^ "Mamusa by-election: Good news for EFF, but DA slide against FF+ continues". The Citizen. 16 January 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- ^ Head, Tom (16 January 2020). "Schweizer-Reneke: DA disaster, as they lose third ward in six months to FF Plus". The South African. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- ^ Gerber, Jan. "FF Plus formally joins secessionist CapeXit in awareness campaign". News24. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ "I was a project for the DA, says Cape Town FF Plus mayor hopeful Lennit Max". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ Gerber, Jan. "While the ANC and DA are on the wane, the FF Plus and PA gain". News24. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- ^ White, Ray. "Pieter Mulder steps down as Freedom Front Plus leader". from the original on 13 November 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
- ^ "Results Dashboard". www.elections.org.za. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
External links edit
- Media related to Freedom Front Plus at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website
- SA Talent
- Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation
Christian democratic parties in Africa