Independent Democrats | |
---|---|
President | Patricia de Lille |
Secretary-General | Haniff Hoosen |
Chairperson | Mervyn Cirota |
Founder | Patricia de Lille |
Founded | 21 June 2003 |
Dissolved | 2014 |
Merged into | Democratic Alliance |
Headquarters | Cape Town, Western Cape |
Youth wing | Young Independent Democrats |
Ideology | Social liberalism Populism |
Political position | Centre |
Colours | Orange |
Slogan | Be a Part of the Solution |
South Africa portal |
The Independent Democrats (ID) was a South African political party, formed by former Pan Africanist Congress member Patricia de Lille in 2003 via floor crossing legislation.[1] The party's platform was premised on opposition to corruption, with a mixture of liberal principles and strategies for improving equity. The party's strongholds were the Northern and Western Cape.
On 15 August 2010, the party announced plans to merge with the larger Democratic Alliance as part of a plan to challenge the governing African National Congress (ANC).[2] The party disbanded as a separate political organization in 2014.
2009 election manifesto
Ahead of the national elections in 2009, the ID launched a manifesto promising that, if elected to power, they would increase the staffing of the South African Police Service to 200,000, enlist 5,000 caseworkers to operate in crime-stricken communities, make South Africa a leader in renewable energy and finance a minimum social grant by taxing luxury goods, tobacco and alcohol. In addition they vowed that an "ID government would fire a minister whose department received a qualified audit two years in a row."[3]
Merger with DA
In 2010, then-ID leader Patricia de Lille formalized an agreement to merge with the Democratic Alliance. The two parties merged by 2014. Due to this, the ID did not contest the 2011 local elections as a separate entity, instead fielding its candidates on the DA's ballots. In February 2012, the-then Leader of the Official Opposition, Lindiwe Mazibuko, reshuffled her shadow cabinet, which included appointing members of the ID to shadow portfolios for the first time.[4] This was seen as a move towards strengthening the co-operation between the two parties heading towards the completion of the merger.
Election results
National elections
Election | Votes | % | Seats |
---|---|---|---|
2009 | 162,915 | 0.92 | 4 |
2004 | 269,765 | 1.70 | 7 |
Municipal elections
Election | Votes | % |
---|---|---|
2006 | 530,912 | 2.0% |
See also
References
- ↑ "Floor Crossing at a Glance (pdf)". Idasa. 21 June 2004. Archived from the original on 28 February 2007. Retrieved 12 December 2006.
- ↑ , Andrew Harding, 15 August 2010, "South African opposition parties to merge"
- ↑ Quoted in Hartley 2009.
- ↑ "DA's Athol Trollip gets Mazibuko's old portfolio | City Press". City Press. South Africa. Archived from the original on 1 February 2012. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
- General
- Hartley, Aziz. "ID releases election manifesto." Cape Times, 2 February 2009 in literature: 4.
External links
- Independent Democrats (official site)