Referendum Party (South Africa)

Referendum Party
AbbreviationRP
LeaderPhil Craig
Founded9 November 2023; 10 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]

  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. ^ "Why we`re launching the Referendum Party - OPINION - Politicsweb". www.politicsweb.co.za. Retrieved 15 November 2023.