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Referendum Party (South Africa)

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Referendum Party
AbbreviationRP
LeaderPhil Craig
Founded9 November 2023; 12 months ago (2023-11-09)
Preceded byCape Independence Advocacy Group (CIAG)
Headquarters2nd Floor
The Old Tannery
1 Herman road
Wellington
Western Cape
IdeologySingle-issue politics (Cape independence)
Provincial AffiliationCapeXit Election Accord[1]
ColoursNavy and Gold
   
SloganOur Cape. Our Future. Our Choice!
Website
www.referendumparty.org

The Referendum Party (RP) is a single-issue political party in South Africa established to compete in the 2024 general election and force the Western Cape premier to call a referendum on Cape independence as its coalition condition. The party was founded in November 2023 in response to Western Cape premier Alan Winde denying the Western Cape a referendum on Cape independence in October 2023.[2]

The Referendum Party does not seek to remove the Democratic Alliance (DA) from the Western Cape government, but to demand the Premier call a referendum as their coalition condition. As such, the party attempted to join the DA's Multi-Party Charter (MPC) national alliance, however the party application was rejected due to the party's singular support for Cape independence.[3] This is despite fellow MPC member the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) also being in favour of Cape independence.[4]

The FF+, RP and CapeXit NPO separately signed an electoral pact binding the parties to require a referendum on independence as part of any coalition condition in the Western Cape.[5]

The party is led by Phil Craig, who was previously involved in the founding of the Cape Independence Advocacy Group.[6] According to Craig, the Referendum Party is styled after the Brexit Party and Brexit Party members were consulted to help inform the party's policies.[7]

History

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The Referendum Party has its roots in the Cape Independence Advocacy Group (CIAG), a political lobby group set up to lobby the DA-led Western Cape government to hold a referendum on independence. After years of negotiations the CIAG together with other organisations which included the Freedom Front Plus, CapeXit, the Swartland Aksie Groep and others sent an ultimatum to Alan Winde with the backing of 30k signatures. It asked the premier to either call a referendum on independence or ask the president of South Africa to call one. The Premier refused. [8]

As a result, the CIAG launched the Referendum Party, to provide a safe haven for DA voters who also want a referendum on independence. The party differs from other pro-independence parties in that it is single issue and does not seek to unseat the Democratic Alliance.[8][7]

Election results

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National Assembly elections

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Election Party leader Total votes Share of vote Seats +/– Government
2024 Phil Craig 3,834 0.02%[a]
0 / 400
 New Extra-parliamentary
  1. ^ From 2024, seats in the National Assembly are determined by a combination of the national ballot, and the nine regional ballots. Only the national ballot figures are shown here.

Provincial elections

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Election Western Cape
% Seats
2024 0.26% 0/42

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The Referendum Party signs CapeXit election accord". Referendum Party (News). Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  2. ^ Goodall, Keely. "Referendum Party: It's undemocratic to NOT call Cape Independence referendum". Cape Talk. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
  3. ^ Goba, Thabiso. "Multi-Party Charter snubs Referendum Party as 'devisive'". EWN. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  4. ^ "Independence update | VF+ affirms support, IEC troubles for RP and CIP | The Cape Independent". www.capeindependent.com. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  5. ^ "The Referendum Party signs CapeXit election accord". Referendum Party (News). Retrieved 20 May 2024.
  6. ^ "Phil Craig puts his money where his mouth is". www.capeindependence.org. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Why we`re launching the Referendum Party - OPINION - Politicsweb". www.politicsweb.co.za. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
  8. ^ a b TANDWA, LIZEKA. "Referandum Party for Cape independence to call the DA's bluff". Mail & Guardian. Retrieved 11 November 2023.
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