The Democratic Party (DP) was the name of the South African political party now called the Democratic Alliance. Although the Democratic Party name dates from 1989, the party existed under other labels throughout the apartheid years, when it was the Parliamentary opposition to the ruling National Party's policies.
The Democratic Alliance is a South African political party and the official opposition to the ruling African National Congress (ANC). The party is broadly centrist, and has been attributed both centre-left and centre-right policies. It is a member of Liberal International and the Africa Liberal Network. The DA traces its roots to the founding of the anti-apartheid Progressive Party in 1959, with many mergers and name changes between that time and the present.
The Freedom Front Plus is a right-wing political party in South Africa that was formed in 1994. It is led by Dr Pieter Groenewald. Its current stated policy positions include abolishing affirmative action, replacing it with merit based appointments, and being firmly against the proposed expropriation without compensation land reform movement to protect the rights and interests of minorities, especially Afrikaners and Afrikaans speaking Coloureds. The party also supports greater self-determination for minorities throughout South Africa, and expressly has adopted Cape Independence as an official party position.
The Christian Democratic Party (CDP) is a Christian social conservative party in South Africa. The party was registered on 9 September 1999 and was formally launched a year later.
Louis Luyt was a South African business tycoon and politician, and one-time rugby administrator.
The Congress of the People (COPE) is a South African political party formed in 2008 by former members of the African National Congress (ANC). The party was founded by former ANC members Mosiuoa Lekota, Mbhazima Shilowa and Mluleki George to contest the 2009 general election. The party was announced following a national convention held in Sandton on 1 November 2008, and was founded at a congress held in Bloemfontein on 16 December 2008. The name echoes the 1955 Congress of the People at which the Freedom Charter was adopted by the ANC and other parties, a name strongly contested by the ANC in a legal move dismissed by the Pretoria High Court.
Although the Democratic Alliance of South Africa in its present form is fairly new, its roots can be traced far back in South African political history, through a complex sequence of splits and mergers.
Grant Haskin is currently serving as Member of the Cape Town City Council and Leader of the African Christian Democratic Party in the Cape Town City Council. He previously served as Executive Deputy Mayor of Cape Town, Acting Mayor of Cape Town, Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Sports and Amenities. He served in the Western Cape Provincial Parliament for two periods. While a Member of the Provincial Parliament, he served as Chairman of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) and Special Delegate to the National Council of the Provinces.
Dr. Dion George is a South African politician, the Shadow Deputy Minister of Finance, and a Member of Parliament for the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA). He also serves as a member-elected Trustee of the Political Office Bearers Pension Fund and in the DA's national leadership as Federal Finance Chair.
Makashule Gana is a South African politician who currently serves as a member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature for the opposition Democratic Alliance. He was previously a member of the National Assembly, where he was Shadow Minister of Human Settlements between 2014 and 2016. Gana also served as the Deputy Federal Chairperson of the DA until 2015. He was previously leader of the DA Youth and DA councillor in the City of Johannesburg, he holds a BSc degree and is currently registered for a Postgraduate Diploma in Management at the Wits Business School.
The 2014 South African general election was held on 7 May 2014, to elect a new National Assembly and new provincial legislatures in each province. It was the fifth election held in South Africa under conditions of universal adult suffrage since the end of the apartheid era in 1994, and also the first held since the death of Nelson Mandela. It was also the first time that South African expatriates were allowed to vote in a South African national election.
Mmusi Aloysias Maimane is a South African politician, the former Leader of South Africa's opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) political party from 10 May 2015 to 23 October 2019, and the former Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly of South Africa from 29 May 2014 to 24 October 2019. He is the former leader of the DA in the Johannesburg City Council and the DA National Spokesperson. In 2011, he was elected to be the DA's Johannesburg mayoral candidate in the 2011 municipal elections. In that election, Maimane helped to grow the party's voter base, but was not elected mayor. Thereafter he served as Leader of the Official Opposition on the Johannesburg City Council until May 2014. In addition to his political career, he is also a pastor and elder in the conservative Liberty Church. He formed the One South Africa Movement in 2020.
The Patriotic Alliance (PA) is a South African political party, formed in November 2013 by, among others, motivational speaker, author and businessman Gayton McKenzie and former English Teacher turned businessman and socialite Kenny Kunene.
Solly Tshepiso Msimanga is a South African politician serving as the Leader of the Opposition in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature since May 2019. He has been a Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature since February 2019, having previously served from 2014 to 2016. Msimanga was the Executive Mayor of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality from 2016 to 2019 and the DA Provincial Chairperson from 2014 to 2017. He was the Democratic Alliance's Gauteng Premier candidate for the 2019 elections.
The 2019 South African general election was held on 8 May 2019 to elect a new President, National Assembly and provincial legislatures in each province. These were the sixth elections held since the end of apartheid in 1994 and determined who would become the next President of South Africa.
Good is a South African political party that was formed in December 2018. It is led by its founder Patricia de Lille, current Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure and former Mayor of Cape Town. The party's policies are predominantly left-wing and its platform is premised on social democracy, environmentalism, anti-racism and Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment. The party's stronghold is the Western Cape and mainly draws support from the Coloured community.
Thomas Charles Ravenscroft Walters is a South African politician of the Democratic Alliance (DA) who has been serving as a Member of the National Assembly of South Africa since May 2014. He served as a Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature from 2009 to 2014. In 2012, Walters was elected Deputy Federal Council Chairperson of the Democratic Alliance, and has been deputising Federal Council Chairperson Helen Zille since 2019. He deputised James Selfe from 2012 to 2019. Walters was the party's Shadow Minister and Shadow Deputy Minister of Rural Development and Land Reform.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) announced on 20 March 2019 that a record number of 48 parties had registered candidates for the national parliamentary election. This is 19 more parties that contested the 2014 national elections. In the provincial legislature elections, the total number of parties registering candidates were:
Refiloe Nt'sekhe is a South African politician who serves as a Deputy Federal Chairperson of the Democratic Alliance (DA). She was elected to the position at the 2015 Federal Congress. Nt'sekhe was elected as a Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature in the 2014 general election. She was also one of two national spokespeople of the DA from 2015 to 2020.
Evert Phillipus du Plessis is a South African politician and a Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature for the Democratic Alliance (DA).
