Cape Party

Cape Party
Leader Jack Miller
Founded 2007
Headquarters Cavendish Close,
Office G,
Warwick Street,
Claremont,
Cape Town
Membership (2017) 10 000[1]
Ideology Independence
National Liberalism
Direct democracy
Right-wing populism
Political position Radical centrism
Colours Blue and Red
         
Website
www.capeparty.com

The Cape Party (CAPE) is a political party in South Africa which seeks to use all constitutional and legal means to bring about independence for the Western Cape, Northern Cape (excluding two districts),[2] six municipalities in the Eastern Cape, and one municipality in the Free State.[3] The area includes all municipalities in those provinces with an Afrikaans-speaking majority. In 2009, it had a membership of approximately 1000 people across South Africa which has grown to over 10 000 by 2017.[4][1]

It is registered with the Independent Electoral Commission and was on the provincial ballot of the Western Cape in the South African general elections of 2009,[5] where it received 2552 votes.[6] It stood again for the municipal elections in 2016.[7] where it received 4,473 votes.

During November 2017 the party took part in by-elections for the Brackenfell Ward, wherein it received 18.72% of the vote; taking second place, after the Democratic Alliance. [8]

Formation and early years

The party grew out of a Facebook group[9] in 2007,[10] and is led by Jack Miller, a Cape Town businessman.[4] On 17 March 2009, the young party's website was defaced by vandals. The website was replaced with an image of a "black devil" and the words "fuck off".[11] Jack Miller, the party leader, alleged that the attack would have required a great deal of funding and equipment, and claimed that it had been perpetrated by one of South Africa's two largest political parties, the African National Congress or the Democratic Alliance.[12] The attack was investigated by the IEC, which has come to no conclusions.

In 2009, the Cape Party petitioned the Independent Electoral Commission to reject the registration of another political party, the recently formed Congress of the People, on the grounds that the abbreviation of their name (Cope) could cause confusion between the two parties amongst voters, which is against the IEC's regulations. The IEC rejected the objection.[13]

In 2010, the Cape Party announced its support for the Thembu clan, whose chief has said that the clan is seeking autonomy for the clan's territory east of the Fish River.[14]

The Cape Party was criticised in the press as a narrow, single-issue party without substantive policy. Commentators have alleged that its platform is racist, and particularly vilifies migrant workers from elsewhere in South Africa, who work in the Western Cape.[15] The party has denied accusations of racism.[7] In addition, Justin Sylvester, a political analyst for the Institute for Democracy in South Africa, has compared the proposed Cape Republic to Orania, and described the desire for secession as a marginal view.[16]

Fuck White People Court case

During 2017 The Cape Party instituted an application to have a poster, which was covered with the words Fuck White People in black-and-white all caps letters, on display since 2016 alongside a chair and “goldendeanboots” as part of an exhibition called The Art of Disruptions at the Cape Town gallery, declared as hate speech.

The work was created by Dean Hutton, who wore a suit with the same print publicly before Iziko approached them. Some members approached the Art gallery and placed a sticker over the poster that read “love thy Neighbour” for this the Art Gallery charged them criminally, for damage to property. [17] In the incident, the party members who defaced the poster were documented accosting and physically manhandling Iziko staff members in their attempts to stop the Party's actions. [18]

The application was heard in the Equality Court of South Africa in Cape Town. In terms of the Regulations Relating to the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act.

However the Court declared that the words Fuck white people is not hate speech. [19]

Platform

The party believes that the population of the Western Cape and parts of surrounding provinces (which it calls the Cape Nation),[20] is culturally and linguistically distinct from the rest of South Africa, and is therefore entitled to statehood under chapter 14, section 235 of the South African Constitution.[3] The Party says the Republic of South Africa is a colonial construct,[20] and that the Cape would be better off if it separated from South Africa. It claims that the national government and legislative apparatus are racist and totalitarian,[3] and has referred to President Jacob Zuma as an illegitimate occupier of the Cape.[21] Black economic empowerment, affirmative action and housing allocation policies have been provided as examples of the national government's racist policies.[4]

Economics

The party cites the Division of Revenue Act in which 78% of revenue raised in the province never returns and that tax payers pay R3.5 Billion per week to the South African treasury.[22] The province, the second wealthiest in South Africa, would be more economically successful if these revenues were spent within its borders. The Party says its proposed policies post-independence would make the Cape Republic " one of the top 10 wealthiest countries per capita [sic] in the world".[3]

The Cape Party has said that it occupies a unique position, as it focuses on local issues, instead of attempting to contest power in national elections, which would legitimise the national political machinery.[3]

The party believes in the failure of Representative Democracy and proposes a system of direct democracy where the electorate are consulted in referenda before passing laws. It also supports the ability of individual communities and cultural groups to determine the laws that govern them. It supports free ports, and has suggested turning its prospective republic into a tax haven.[2]

Geographical distribution of Afrikaans in South Africa: proportion of the population that speaks Afrikaans at home.

Process of secession

The party cites various legal provisions and frameworks to support its position that the "Cape Nation" has a right to self-government. These include:[2]

The constitutional law scholar Pierre de Vos, however, has said that the Cape Party could not secede without a revolution. As the constitution has created a unitary state, he has said that threatening the unity of the country would be treason.[7] The Cape Party refuted this claim by citing a statement by the National Prosecuting Authority statement on an ordinance of secession submitted by the Abathembu in 2010. The statement by the NPA said that secession was "not a crime" and went on to say that secession was "Political Matter"[33]

The Cape Party has said that it will seek to build consensus with the dominant political parties in the Western Cape, such as the Democratic Alliance. In response, Democratic Alliance federal executive chairperson James Selfe said that the Cape Party was "not a party we take seriously".[16]

Support for an Independent Western Cape

The idea of an independent Western Cape has gained considerable publicity since the 2009 general elections, in which the results put the province at odds with the rest of South Africa. The opposition Democratic Alliance won 51% of the vote in the province. Following its defeat at the polls in 2009, the Western Cape ANC publicity acknowledged that "were it to be put to a referendum right now, the majority of citizens would support a Unilateral Declaration of Independence – The Republic of the Western Cape" [34]

Many pundits have however scoffed at the idea of an Independent Republic in the Western Cape but as the decline of South Africa's economy has become apparent the idea has gained more favorable coverage. In 2016 the author RW Johnson speculated that calls for the province's independence were growing and that de facto independence will come when citizens pay taxes into a private account and not to the ANC government in Pretoria.[35]

In 2017, Alec Hogg the Founder and Publisher of Biznews.com also the Chief Executive Officer and Editor-in-Chief for Moneywebits; stated that the Cape Party is onto something and that it could it become SA’s UKIP.[1]

Election campaigns

The Cape Party has so far contested elections in 2009, 2011 and 2016. The party fielded candidates in all wards of the City of Cape Town in the municipal elections of 2011, and also contested wards of the Cape Winelands, Overberg, Eden and West Coast municipalities.[7] The party launched its manifesto for the election on 15 April 2011. Miller described the election as "an opportunity to take great steps toward our end goal of establishing the Cape Republic".[16]

In addressing the results of the 2009 elections, a party spokesperson described the Cape Party's campaign in those elections as a publicity drive, noting that it didn't expect to win any seats. He said, however, that the party hoped to win a "significant portion" of votes in 2011, adding that the party's support was growing and was strongest in people between the ages of 18 and 35. He acknowledged, however, that this was difficult for the media to believe.[7] The party finally garnered 1,670 votes (0.1% of the Western Cape vote) on the proportional representation ballot in the 2011 election.[36]

The Cape Party was the first political party to put up election posters in the City of Cape Town.[9] However, the party claimed that 2500 of these went missing in three weeks. A party spokesman blamed the Democratic Alliance for the missing posters, calling them "masters of the dark arts", and alleging that the Cape Party posters had been replaced with posters for the DA.[37]

Municipal elections

Election Votes %
2016[38] 4,473 0.01%

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Alec, Hogg (2017-03-14). "Is the Cape Party onto something – could it become SA's UKIP?". Biznews.com.
  2. 1 2 3 "CitizenX: Cape Party Manifesto". CitizenX. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "FAQs". Cape Party. Archived from the original on 25 April 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  4. 1 2 3 "Cape must secede from SA". Independent Online. 25 March 2009. Retrieved 2017-07-10.
  5. ↑ "Final List of Parties to contest the 2009 Elections". Polity.org.za. 11 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  6. ↑ "Final Results for Western Cape Elections". politicsweb.co.za. 25 April 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Cape Party to Keep Fighting – Western Cape – IOL". Independent Online. 25 March 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-14.
  8. ↑ "IEC Results Dashboard". www.elections.org.za. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  9. 1 2 "Cape Party grows out of Facebook". The Media Online. 9 March 2011. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
  10. ↑ "Cape Party¶". SABC News. Retrieved 2009-03-18.
  11. ↑ "Party's website 'hacked'". iafrica.com. 17 March 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  12. ↑ "DA, ANC blamed for website hacking". mybroadband.co.za. 5 November 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  13. ↑ "CAPE could crush COPE before elections". Cape Party. 25 February 2009. Archived from the original on 5 June 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  14. ↑ "CAPE PARTY stands with ABATHEMBU SECESSIONISTS and wants constitutional review". Fromtheold. 22 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  15. ↑ "Cape independence before the Second Coming". Cape Town Globalist. 19 April 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  16. 1 2 3 "Cape Party wants independent state". BusinessDay. 17 March 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-14.
  17. ↑ Cape Party (2017-01-17), Fuck White People vs Love Thy Neighbour, retrieved 2018-06-18
  18. ↑ "'F**k White People' artwork vandalised at Cape museum". News24. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
  19. ↑ Pather, Ra'eesa. "Court declares 'Fuck White People' is neither racist nor hate speech". The M&G Online. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
  20. 1 2 "History of the Cape of Good Hope". Cape Party. 2009. Archived from the original on 24 April 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  21. ↑ "Zuma not our president". Cape Party. 7 May 2009. Archived from the original on 5 June 2009. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  22. ↑ http://www.parliament.gov.za/content/b%202%20-%202016%20(division%20of%20revenue)~1.pdf
  23. ↑ "Constitution of the Republic of South Africa: Chapter 14; Article 235". Parliament of the Republic of South Africa. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
  24. ↑ "International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights". United Nations. 16 December 1966. Archived from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
  25. ↑ "United Nations Charter". United Nations. 24 October 1945. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
  26. ↑ "UN Resolution 1513 (XV): "Declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries and peoples"". United Nations. 14 December 1960. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
  27. ↑ "UN Resolution 43/105: "Universal realization of the right of peoples to self-determination"". United Nations. 8 December 1988. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
  28. ↑ "UN Resolution 44/147: "Respect for the principles of national sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of States in their electoral processes"". United Nations. 15 December 1989. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
  29. ↑ "UN Resolution 47/83: "Universal realization of the right of peoples to self-determination"". United Nations. 16 December 1992. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
  30. ↑ "UN Resolution 47/135: "Declaration on the rights of persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities"". United Nations. 18 December 1992. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
  31. ↑ "UN Resolution 48/93: "Universal realization of the right of peoples to self-determination"". United Nations. 20 December 1993. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
  32. ↑ "African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights". Organization of African Unity. 21 October 1986. Archived from the original on 24 May 2005. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
  33. ↑ "InfoUpdate 1 of 2010 - Recent Judgments - Eastern Cape : Mthatha". www.lawlibrary.co.za. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  34. ↑ http://152.111.1.87/argief/berigte/citypress/2009/06/04/CP/23/lm-wcANC.html
  35. ↑ "RW Johnson: Independent Western Cape gains support as SA economy flounders". Fin24. Retrieved 2018-06-18.
  36. ↑ "Results Summary – All Ballots: Western Cape" (PDF). Local Government Elections 2011. Independent Electoral Commission. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
  37. ↑ "DA "dirty tricks" to blame for posters lost". Cape Party. 30 March 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-14.
  38. ↑ "Results Summary - All Ballots" (PDF). elections.org.za. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
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