Last modified: 2002-04-20 by jarig bakker
Keywords: south africa | political parties | democratic party | amp | vryheidsfront |
Links: FOTW homepage |
search |
disclaimer and copyright |
write us |
mirrors
According to this webpage
the party was founded 11 Dec 1998 and led by Mr. Salim Ncube. They have
a vision for a Moral
South Africa, under which there will be safety and security and peace.
Regarding homosexuality: "we will not allow a handful neo-liberals to destroy
our society." They advocate the return of the death penalty.
The words on top of the flag belong to it
Franc van Diest, 2 Aug 2001
The Democratic Party was formed on April 8, 1989, when the former Progressive
Federal Party, Independent party and National Democratic Movement merged.
Under the combined leadership of Zach de Beer, Denis Worrall and Wynand
Malan, the DP won 36 seats in Parliament in the general election of September
that year. However, the history of the DP goes back to 1959 when a number
of liberal members of the United Party broke away to form the Progressive
Party. The cause of the split was the UP's inability to find a clear-cut
alternative to the National Party's apartheid policy. The PP took its stand
on constitutional reform, calling for an entrenched Constitution incorporating
a Bill of Rights, for an independent judiciary and for a federal Constitution
in which the powers of the provinces would be constitutionally protected.
It stood too for an economy based upon free enterprise. It would be 35
years before the members of the Progressive Party saw their ideals realised
in South Africa's interim Constitution. In the 1961 election only Mrs Helen
Suzman kept her seat in Parliament for the PP. Thus began one of the great
parliamentary performances of all time: Mrs Suzman sat alone for 13 years,
the sole principled opponent of racial discrimination in the whole South
African Parliament. She fought against detention without trial, pass laws,
influx control, job reservation on grounds of colour, racially separate
amenities, Group Areas and forced removals. She demanded trade union rights
for blacks and fought for better wages and working conditions. In 1974
six more PP members won seats in Parliament. Soon after this the PP merged
with a new breakaway group from the United Party, the Reform Party, to
become the Progressive Reform Party in 1975. In 1977 another group of UP
members left the Party to form the Committee for a United Opposition, which
then joined the PRP to form the Progressive Federal Party. During 1987
Denis Worrall resigned as South African ambassador in London to return
to politics. He formed the Independent Movement to fight the 1987 general
election. Only Wynand Malan won his seat and when Mr Malan left the Independent
Movement, Mr Worrall formed the Independent Party. Mr Malan, together with
others, formed the National Democratic Movement. The PFP had lost a number
of Parliamentary seats in the 1987 election and in 1988 Zach de Beer became
the PFP leader. He continued negotiations which culminated in the IP, NDM
and PFP disbanding to form the Democratic Party in April 1989. The National
Party government immediately called a general election for September of
that year, in which the DP improved its position while the NP lost seats
both to the DP and to the right-wing Conservative Party. This was the turning
point for NP leader FW de Klerk, who announced a radical change in government
policy on February 2 1990. With the unbanning of the ANC, PAC and other
liberation organisations, and the release of Nelson Mandela, the process
of negotiating a peaceful solution to South Africa's political impasse
began. DP leader Zach de Beer was chosen as the first Management Committee
Chairman of Codesa. Both in Codesa and the subsequent Multi-Party Negotiating
Process held at the World Trade Centre in Kempton Park the DP played a
vital role in the negotiation of an interim Constitution which included
most of the principles and ideals around which the PP was formed in 1959.
The April 1994 general election was the liberation election, the first
in which all South Africans voted together. The ANC recorded a significant
victory, with the DP only winning 1,7% of the vote on the national level.
With only 10 Members of Parliament, and under the leadership of Tony Leon,
the DP began a new fight: the fight for the protection of human rights
and the extension of federalism and free enterprise in South Africa. In
the 1999 General elction the DP vastly improved its showing becoming the
official opposition with 9.6% of the votes and 44 seats
Gary Selikow, 2 Aug 2000
The Vryheidsfront - Freedom Front is a rightist Afrikaner party, founded
1994 by Gen. (Ret.) Constand Viljoen. It advocates a "White homeland",
and had at the elections of 1999 3 seats in the Parliament.
Franc van Diest, 1 Aug 2001
The Freedom Front is not a "rightist" political party and it is not
in favour of a "WHITE" Homeland.
The Freedom Front is a party that enhances the rights of a specific
community, namely the Afrikaner people. It is not based on
race. We are in favour of self-determination for the AFRIKANER People
that includes cultural as well as territorial
self-determination.
Dr. Corne Mulder MP - Freedom Front, 17 Apr 2002
|