| Freedom Front Plus Vryheidsfront Plus |
|
|---|---|
| Leader | Pieter Mulder |
| Chairperson | Abrie Oosthuizen |
| Founded | 1 March 1994 |
| Headquarters | Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa |
| Ideology | Christian democracy, Classical liberalism, Afrikaner nationalism, Afrikaner separatism |
| International affiliation | Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization |
| Official colours | Green and Dark orange |
| National Assembly seats |
4 / 400
|
| NCOP seats |
1 / 90
|
| Website | |
| www.vryheidsfront.co.za | |
| Politics of South Africa Political parties Elections |
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The Freedom Front Plus (FF+; Afrikaans: Vryheidsfront Plus, VF+) is a South African political party that aims to protect Afrikaner interests. The leader is Dr. Pieter Mulder.
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The Freedom Front was founded on 1 March 1994 by members of the Afrikaner right under Constand Viljoen. Viljoen was widely regarded as a moderate right-wing personality. At this stage, none of the Afrikaner right-wing parties had registered for the 1994 elections and had refused to do so on the grounds that they viewed the election as unconstitutional. In a move that surprised other right-wing parties, 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 General Viljoen, the Freedom Front received 2.2% of the national vote (with 424,555 votes cast) and nine seats in the National Assembly. In the 1999 election their support dropped to 0.8% (127,217 votes cast) with three seats in the National Assembly. In 2001, Viljoen handed over the leadership of the Freedom Front to Dr. Pieter Mulder.
In 2003, shortly before the 2004 general election, the Conservative Party, the Afrikaner Eenheids Beweging and the Freedom Front decided to contest the election as a single entity under the name Freedom Front Plus (FF+), led by Dr. Mulder. Later, also the Federal Alliance joined the VF+/FF+.
In the 2004 general election, support for the Freedom Front 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. The party also enjoyed a landslide win in the Afrikaner enclave Orania.[1] 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.
The Freedom Front Plus is closely associated with the Afrikaner settlement of Orania, whose long-term goal is to establish an independent state for Afrikaners.
The Freedom Front Plus wish to represent the voice of the Afrikaner in all spheres of government. As such, it cannot count on the attraction of large number of votes. Instead, it seeks to produce results for the Afrikaner in the way in which they approach the governing party.
It is also looking at ways beyond normal parliamentarian politics to benefit Afrikaners. This forms part of their strategy of being "More than just opposition". For example, the Freedom Front-affiliated website SA Talent, states its purpose as follows:
| “ | President Thabo Mbeki recently announced that the government intends to source skilled people from foreign countries in order to reverse the downward trend in levels of service delivery. However, there are many skilled South Africans locally and overseas who would be happy to work in their country but are prevented from doing so by affirmative action.
This web site gives an opportunity to these people to record their skills on an easy accessible data base. We will convey the information to the government and personnel agencies on a continuous basis. |
” |
The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) accepted the Afrikaner people unanimously as a member during its IX General Assembly on 16 – 17 May 2008 in Brussels, Belgium. The Freedom Front Plus leader, Dr. Pieter Mulder, accepted membership of UNPO on behalf of the Afrikaner people.
| Election | Votes | % | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 146,796 | 0.83 | 4 |
| 2004 | 139,465 | 0.89 | 4 |
| 1999 | 127,217 | 0.80 | 3 |
| 1994 | 424,555 | 2.17 | 9 |
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