Rhodesian Action Party
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The Rhodesian Action Party was a political party in Rhodesia formed in 1977 by a group of Rhodesian Front MPs who were dissatisfied by the leadership of Ian Smith and his attempts to negotiate an 'internal settlement' with African nationalists. Twelve members of the Rhodesia House of Assembly joined the party when it was launched on July 4, 1977.
The defections did not end the Rhodesian Front majority in the Assembly but did deprive it of the two-thirds majority which was needed to amend the constitution and Smith therefore decided to dissolve the Assembly and hold an early general election in order to try and regain the initiative. The party contested 46 out of the 50 white seats at the 1977 general election, and performed disastrously: not merely did it fail to win any seat, none of the sitting members won more than 22.3% of the vote in their constituency. The party's overall total was 9.3%.
The party remained in existence and fought the Highlands North byelection in 1978 after the internal settlement agreement, but did not significantly improve.
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