The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) is a South African political party founded in 1993. It is a conservative

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

party based on Biblical principles. The leader of the party is Kenneth Meshoe. Following the 2016 municipal elections, the ACDP joined with the much larger Democratic Alliance (DA) and several other smaller parties to form coalition governments in Nelson Mandela Bay,

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

and Tshwane. As of

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, the ACDP has three members in the South African Parliament, and one member each in the provincial legislatures of

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

, and

Gauteng Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...

. It also has 22 municipal councillors across the country. In June 2024, ACDP was offered an opportunity to be part of Government of National Unity (GNU), but the party decided to stay out of the new government.

Policy

The party's 2019 manifesto focused on seven social challenges, under the slogan "Unite - Build - Grow":

employment Employment is a relationship between two party (law), parties Regulation, regulating the provision of paid Labour (human activity), labour services. Usually based on a employment contract, contract, one party, the employer, which might be a cor ...

economic growth In economics, economic growth is an increase in the quantity and quality of the economic goods and Service (economics), services that a society Production (economics), produces. It can be measured as the increase in the inflation-adjusted Outp ...

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

health Health has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

, safety & security, good governance and

property rights The right to property, or the right to own property (cf. ownership), is often classified as a human right for natural persons regarding their Possession (law), possessions. A general recognition of a right to private property is found more rarely ...

rural development Rural development is the process of improving the quality of life, quality of life and economic well-being of people living in rural areas, often relatively isolated and sparsely populated areas. Often, rural regions have experienced rural povert ...

. The party seeks to apply Biblical principles "to build a better South Africa." Its platform is based on "the biblical standard of reconciliation, justice, compassion, tolerance, peace and the sanctity of life, the individual, the family and community." It is

anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its Abortion by country, legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in r ...

and supports the death penalty for certain heinous crimes. The ACDP was the only party to vote against the adoption of the final version of the South African Constitution, for reason that it enshrined the right to elective abortion and the specific protection of sexual orientation. Its 2000 manifesto opposed the promotion of

condom A condom is a sheath-shaped Barrier contraception, barrier device used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy or a Sexually transmitted disease, sexually transmitted infection (STI). There are both external condo ...

s and safe sex as a way of preventing HIV transmission: ''"The ACDP feel strongly that the condom campaign must be abandoned and that abstinence and faithfulness in marriage must be promoted."'' The party supports an abstinence-only policy. The party opposed the provision of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, 2007 which reduced the homosexual

age of consent The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to Human sexual activity, sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is un ...

from 19 to 16, making it equal to the heterosexual age of consent.

History

According to newspaper reports at the time, the ACDP was founded on 9 December 1993. The party claims on its web site, however, that it was founded on 16 or 17 January 1994 (i.e. exactly one hundred days before South Africa's 1994 national elections). This is because the party's first official congress took place 100 days before the elections. The party's original manifesto included Christian norms, religious freedom, a freemarket system, and human rights under a federal governmental system.

Election results

In its first election, the ACDP secured two seats in the national government. This made the ACDP the smallest of the seven parties in the national government of 1994. They also secured three seats in the provincial government. A year later, the ACDP won three seats in local government elections. From 1994 to 1999, four councillors from other political parties crossed the floor to join the ACDP. In 1999, the ACDP won seven seats to become the sixth-largest party in Parliament. The party also won its first seat on the National Council of Provinces. On the provincial level, the party won four seats. A year later, the ACDP won 70 seats in the local government elections. In 2004, the ACDP won 1.6% of the votes at national level and 1.59% of the votes at provincial level. They were now the seventh largest party, with seven seats in the National Assembly and eight seats at provincial level. The party lost 50% of its support in the 2009 elections and continued to lose support in the 2014 elections, where it won three seats to slip to the ninth-largest party, as well as one provincial seat in the Western Cape. In 2019, the party secured its best result since 2004, winning 0.84% of the votes at the national level. It became the sixth-largest party, with four seats in the National Assembly and three provincial seats: one each in Western Cape, Kwazulu-Natal and Gauteng.

National Assembly elections

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

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

, 88,104 , 0.45% , , – , , - !

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, 228,975 , 1.43% , , 4 , , - !

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, 250,272 , 1.60% , , 1 , , - !

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, 142,658 , 0.81% , , 4 , , - !

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, 104,039 , 0.57% , , ±0 , , - !

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, 146,262 , 0.84% , , 1 , , - !

, 96,575 , 0.60% , , 1 ,

Provincial elections

! rowspan=2 , Election ! colspan=2 ,

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

! colspan=2 , Free State ! colspan=2 ,

! colspan=2 ,

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

! colspan=2 ,

Limpopo Limpopo () is the northernmost Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a ...

! colspan=2 ,

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Nguni languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It shares bor ...

! colspan=2 , North-West ! colspan=2 ,

Northern Cape The Northern Cape ( ; ; ) is the largest and most sparsely populated Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley, South Africa, Kimberley. It includes ...

! colspan=2 ,

, - ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats , - !

, 0.51% , , 0/56 , 0.45% , , 0/30 , 0.61% , , 1/86 , 0.67% , , 1/81 , 0.38% , , 0/40 , 0.48% , , 0/30 , 0.35% , , 0/30 , 0.40% , , 0/30 , 1.20% , , 1/42 , - !

, 0.96% , , 0/63 , 0.90% , , 0/30 , 1.16% , , 1/73 , 1.81% , , 1/80 , 1.10% , , 1/49 , 1.12% , , 0/30 , 0.94% , , 0/33 , 1.53% , , 0/30 , 2.79% , , 1/42 , - !

, 0.78% , , 0/63 , 1.30% , , 1/30 , 1.64% , , 1/73 , 1.78% , , 2/80 , 1.26% , , 1/49 , 1.09% , , 0/30 , 1.07% , , 0/33 , 1.88% , , 1/30 , 3.44% , , 2/42 , - !

, 0.53% , , 0/63 , 0.73% , , 0/30 , 0.87% , , 1/73 , 0.68% , , 1/80 , 0.69% , , 0/49 , 0.51% , , 0/30 , 0.69% , , 0/33 , 1.00% , , 0/30 , 1.47% , , 1/42 , - !

, 0.33% , , 0/63 , 0.51% , , 0/30 , 0.62% , , 0/73 , 0.44% , , 0/80 , 0.48% , , 0/49 , 0.40% , , 0/30 , 0.53% , , 0/33 , 0.57% , , 0/30 , 1.02% , , 1/42 , - !

, 0.47% , , 0/63 , 0.42% , , 0/30 , 0.71% , , 1/73 , 0.48% , , 1/80 , 0.35% , , 0/49 , 0.51% , , 0/30 , 0.34% , , 0/33 , 0.73% , , 0/30 , 2.66% , , 1/42 , - !

, 0.48% , , 0/73 , 0.48% , , 0/30 , 0.74% , , 1/80 , 0.32% , , 0/80 , 0.34% , , 0/64 , 0.47% , , 0/51 , 0.45% , , 0/38 , 0.38% , , 0/30 , 1.29% , , 1/42

Municipal elections

, - ! Election ! Votes ! % , - ! 1995–96 , 66,985 , 0.8% , - !

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, , 1.3% , - ! 2006 , 251 468 , 1.3% , - !

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, 165,602 , 0.6% , - !

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, 124,429 , 0.4% , - !

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, 217,627 , 0.71% , -

Logo

The ACDP logo symbolises the party's biblical

principles. The two horizontal arrows signify drawing South Africans from different view points and affiliations towards the Christian cross. The vertical arrows illustrate the directions up towards God and down towards South Africa. The red border signifies the blood of Jesus Christ.

References

History of the ACDP

External links

African Christian Democratic Party
official site
ACDP Tshwane Region
{{Authority control 1993 establishments in South Africa Christian democratic parties in South Africa Conservative parties in South Africa Political parties based in Johannesburg Political parties established in 1993 Protestant political parties Social conservative parties