The United Africans Transformation (UAT) is a minor 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 ...

. It was founded in November 2022 by a group of individuals who broke away from 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). The UATP is centered around Africanism, pan-Africanism, and socialism. On 30 June 2024 president

Cyril Ramaphosa Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa (born 17 November 1952) is a South African businessman and politician who is currently serving as the fifth democratically elected president of South Africa. Formerly an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and ...

announced that the UAT joined the

government of national unity A national unity government, government of national unity (GNU), or national union government is a broad coalition government consisting of all parties (or all major parties) in the legislature, usually formed during a time of war or other nati ...

(GNU), having signed the GNU statement of intent. However, the UAT withdrew from the GNU on 12 July 2024 after it did not receive any positions in the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

History

Formation

The party was founded by Wonder Mahlatsi, a former

(ANC) member and businessman. The party was launched in November 2022, in Johannesburg, Gauteng province. The UATP has been criticized for its lack of clear policies and its perceived opportunism in breaking away from the ANC. Some have also questioned the leadership style and the party's lack of transparency in its finances and decision-making processes.

Participation in Government of National Unity

In June 2024, president

stated that the UAT had joined the Government of National Unity (GNU), which was formed in the wake of the ANC losing its parliamentary majority for the first time in 30 years. The GNU aimed to include various political parties to ensure stable government where no party had an absolute majority. In July 2024 Mahlatsi remarked, "it took us by surprise to hear the President of the Republic announcing that the UAT is part of GNU," implying that formalities for it joining the GNU had not been concluded by the time the president announced that it had joined. In the same statement Mahlatsi announced the UAT's withdrawal from the GNU due to allegations of exclusion from critical decision-making processes and bad faith negotiations, after it did not get any ministerial posts or chairperson positions in

parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...

committee portfolios. He expressed disappointment with the ANC, emphasizing the need for fair and inclusive coalition governance.

Current structure and composition

The UATP has a central committee led by Mahlatsi as the president, with a secretary-general and other office bearers. The party has a small presence in a few provinces, with most of its support coming from the Gauteng and

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 ...

provinces. The UATP has not articulated a clear foreign policy but has expressed support for African unity and solidarity with other African nations. The UATP's ideology is centered around Africanism, pan-Africanism, and socialism. Its policies focus on economic empowerment, land reform, and social justice.

Election results

The UATP has contested local government elections in 2019 and national elections in 2024. In the 2024 General Election, the party won 1 seat in the National Assembly and 1 seat in the Limpopo Provincial Legislature.

National Assembly elections

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

2024 Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1928 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ***''Steamboat Willie'', Walt Disney's fi ...

, Wonder Mahlatsi , 35,679 , 0.22% , , New ,

National Council of Provinces

, - ! Election ! Total # of
seats won ! +/– ! Government , - !

, 0 , 0 , 0

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 ...

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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 Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

! 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 , - !

, , , , 0.17 , , 0/30 , 0.23 , , 1/80 , , , , 0.82 , , 1/64 , 0.48 , , 0/51 , 0.54 , , 0/38 , , , , , ,

References

2022 establishments in South Africa African National Congress breakaway groups Pan-Africanism in South Africa Pan-Africanist political parties in Africa Political parties established in 2022 Political parties in South Africa Socialist parties in South Africa {{SouthAfrica-party-stub