The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus; af, Vryheidsfront Plus, ''VF Plus'') is a

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

political party in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

that was formed (as the Freedom Front) in 1994. It is led by

Pieter Groenewald Petrus Johannes "Pieter" Groenewald (born 27 August 1955) is a South African politician. He has been serving as the Leader of the Freedom Front Plus since his election in November 2016. He started his political career by being elected Mayor of S ...

. 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 Coloureds ( af, Kleurlinge or , ) refers to members of multiracial ethnic communities in Southern Africa who may have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including African, European, and Asian. South ...

. The party also supports greater self-determination for minorities throughout South Africa, and expressly has adopted Cape Independence as an official party position.

History

Origins as the Freedom Front (19942003)

The Freedom Front was founded on 1 March 1994 by members of the Afrikaner community under

Constand Viljoen General Constand Laubscher Viljoen, (28 October 1933 – 3 April 2020) was a South African military commander and politician. He co-founded the Afrikaner Volksfront (Afrikaner People's Front) and later founded the Freedom Front (now F ...

, after he had left the

Afrikaner Volksfront The Afrikaner Volksfront (AVF; ) was a separatist umbrella organisation uniting a number of right-wing Afrikaner organisations in South Africa in the early 1990s. History The AVF was formed by General Constand Viljoen and three other gene ...

amidst disagreements. Seeking to achieve his goals through political 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.) 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 Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

and

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...

, and was noted by the new deputy president

Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki KStJ (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who was the second president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Congress (ANC ...

as representing possibly as much as half the Afrikaner voting population in these areas, with the strongest support among farmers and the working class. 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 The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

(ANC) to create a

Volkstaat The concept of a Volkstaat (, "People's State"), also called a Boerestaat, is a proposed view to establish an all-white Afrikaner homeland within the borders of South Africa, most commonly proposed as a fully independent Boer/Afrikaner natio ...

making the party lose its importance. It would also receive increased competition from new parties such as the

Afrikaner Eenheidsbeweging The Afrikaner Eenheidsbeweging (Afrikaner Unity Movement) was a small South African political party founded in Pretoria in 1998. It was led by Cassie Aucamp, and based on Afrikaner nationalism. The party participated in the South African general ...

. In the 1999 election their support dropped to 0.8% (127,217 votes cast) with three seats in the National Assembly and between 1-2% 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. In 2001, Viljoen handed over the leadership of the Freedom Front to

Pieter Mulder Pieter Willem Adriaan Mulder (born 26 July 1951) is a South African politician and the former leader of the Freedom Front Plus. He served as the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in the Cabinet of President Jacob Zuma from ...

Formation of the FF+ and early years (20032016)

In 2003, shortly before the 2004 general election, the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, the

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 Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...

. 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. The party also enjoyed consistent landslide victories in the Afrikaner enclave

Orania Orania () is an Afrikaner separatist town founded by Afrikaners in South Africa. It is located along the Orange River in the Karoo region of the Northern Cape province. The town is split in two halves by the R369 road, and is from Cape Tow ...

. Along with other parties, the FF Plus entered into coalition with the Democratic Alliance (DA) after the 2016 municipal elections to govern

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

Tshwane The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (also known as the City of Tshwane) () is the metropolitan municipality that forms the local government of northern Gauteng Province, South Africa. The Metropolitan area is centred on the city of Pr ...

and several other municipalities.

Groenewald leadership and resurgence (2016present)

In 2016

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. This was highlighted when the FF Plus and the Bruin Bemagtiging Beweging (Brown Movement) an interest group focused on Coloureds led by

Peter Marais Petrus Jacobus "Peter" Marais (born 4 September 1948) is a South African politician who is currently serving as a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament. He previously served as the inaugural Mayor of Cape Town from 2000 until his dis ...

, the former premier of the Western Cape formed an official alliance. This ultimately led to Marais being elected as the party's candidate for premier of the Western Cape for the 2019 elections.

2019 national and provincial elections

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. 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.

2021 municipal elections

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 Lennit Hendry Max (born 1961/62) is a South African politician, advocate and police officer who served as a Member of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament (2014–2018; 2004–2010), as Shadow Deputy Minister of Correctional Services (2010– ...

being the party's candidate for mayor of Cape Town. The party claims that their candidates are selected purely on merit in contrast to the DA. The FF Plus continued their gains in the Western Cape as a result, being in the

kingmaker A kingmaker is a person or group that has great influence on a royal or political succession, without themselves being a viable candidate. Kingmakers may use political, monetary, religious and military means to influence the succession. Origina ...

position in over 6 districts.

Leaders

Electoral performance

South Africa national election 2019 winner by VD

These tables show the electoral performance for the Freedom Front Plus since the advent of democracy in 1994:

National elections

, - ! Election ! Total votes ! Share of vote ! Seats ! +/- ! Government , - !

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

, 424,555 , 2.17% , , – , , - ! 1999 , 127,217 , 0.80% , , 6 , , - ! 2004 , 139,465 , 0.89% , , 1 , , - ! 2009 , 146,796 , 0.83% , , ±0 , , - ! 2014 , 165,715 , 0.90% , , ±0 , , - ! 2019 , 414,864 , 2.38% , , 6 ,

Provincial elections

! rowspan=2 , Election ! colspan=2 ,

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

! colspan=2 , Free State ! colspan=2 ,

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

! colspan=2 ,

Kwazulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

! colspan=2 ,

Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...

! colspan=2 , Mpumalanga ! colspan=2 ,

North-West The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east ...

! colspan=2 ,

Northern Cape The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi T ...

! colspan=2 ,

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

, - ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats , - !

, 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

, - ! Election ! Ward + PR votes ! Share of vote , - ! 1995–96 , 230 845 , 2.7% , - !

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, , 0.1% , - !

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, 185 960 , 0.9% , - !

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, 120,519 , 0.5% , - ! 2016 , 229,281 , 0.8% , - !

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, 549,349 , 2.34% , -

References

External links

* *
SA TalentUnrepresented Nations and Peoples Organisation
{{Authority control Articles containing Afrikaans-language text 1994 establishments in South Africa Afrikaner nationalism Afrikaner organizations Boer nationalism Conservative parties in South Africa Members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization Nationalist parties in South Africa Political parties established in 1994 Political parties in South Africa Political parties of minorities Separatism in South Africa White nationalist parties Protestant political parties Social conservative parties National conservative parties Right-wing populist parties

History

Origins as the Freedom Front (19942003)

Formation of the FF+ and early years (20032016)

Groenewald leadership and resurgence (2016present)

2019 national and provincial elections

2021 municipal elections

Leaders

Electoral performance

National elections

Provincial elections

Municipal elections

See also

References

External links