The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP; ) is a conservative

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, which is a part of the current South African government of national unity together with the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a political party in South Africa. It originated as a liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid and has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, fir ...

(ANC). Although registered as a national party, it has had only minor electoral success outside its home province of

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 ...

. Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who served as chief minister of KwaZulu during the

Apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

period, founded the party in 1975 and led it until 2019. He was succeeded as party president in

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 ...

Velenkosini Hlabisa Velenkosini Fiki Hlabisa (born 4 January 1965) is a South African politician and former teacher who is currently serving as Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs in the Third Cabinet of Cyril Ramaphosa, Government of Nationa ...

. During the first decade of the post-Apartheid period, the IFP received over 90% of its support from ethnic Zulus. Since then, the party has worked to increase its national support by promoting

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives fro ...

and economic conservative policies. In the 2019 general election, the IFP came in fourth place nationally, winning 3.38% of the vote and 14 seats in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

. In the 2024 general

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

, IFP won 17 seats with 3.85% of the vote. In June 2024, Inkatha Freedom Party agreed to join the ANC-led government of national unity (GNU). Leader of the IFP, Velenkosini Hlabisa, became Minister of the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) in the coalition.

Policies and ideology

Policy proposals of the IFP include: *

Devolution Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territori ...

of power to provincial governments * Making the head of state and head of government posts separate, with a ceremonial figurehead as head of state. *

Mixed-member proportional representation Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP or MMPR) is a type of representation provided by some mixed electoral system, mixed electoral systems which combine local Winner-take-all system, winner-take-all elections with a Compensation (el ...

for the

. * Liberalisation of trade * Lower income taxes. * Looser labour laws * Autonomy for traditional African communities and their leaders * Allowing traditional authorities to exercise local government functions * Opposing the notion that

tribalism Tribalism is the state of being organized by, or advocating for, tribes or tribal lifestyles. Human evolution primarily occurred in small hunter-gatherer groups, as opposed to in larger and more recently settled agricultural societies or civilizat ...

is inherently regressive and antithetic to development and progress. In 2018, the party issued an official statement, penned by MP, Narend Singh, stating that the time had come to discuss the possibility of reinstating the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

in South Africa. Ideologically, the party has been positioned on the right-wing of the spectrum, although on its platform the IFP places itself in the political centre ground, stating it rejects "both centralised socialism, as well as harsh ''anything goes'' liberalism." The party states that it bases its values on ''Ubuntu/Botho'' tribal values and supports a pluralist, shared future for South Africa in which all groups have equal rights. The party supports strong law & order policies, in particular calling for harsher penalties for people who commit violence against women and children. The IFP supports the Zulu monarchy and investing more powers and recognition of the constitutional monarch of the

region. In 2023, the party criticised the

' close relations to

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel and denounced antisemitism in South Africa.

History

Apartheid era

Mangosuthu Buthelezi, a former member of the ANC Youth League, founded the Inkatha National Cultural Liberation Movement (INCLM) on 21 March 1975. In 1994, the name was changed to Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). Buthelezi used a structure rooted in '' Inkatha'', meaning "crown" in Zulu, a 1920s cultural organisation for Zulus established by his uncle, Zulu king Solomon kaDinuzulu. The party was established in what is now

, after which branches of the party quickly sprang up in the Transvaal, the

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( ; ) was an independent Boer-ruled sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeated and surrendered to the British Em ...

and the

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 ...

. Because of Buthelezi's former position in the

, the two organisations were initially very close and each supported the other in the anti-apartheid struggle. However, by the early 1980s the Inkatha had come to be regarded as a thorn in the side of the ANC, which wielded much more political force through the United Democratic Front (UDF), than Inkatha and the Pan Africanist Congress. Although the Inkatha leadership initially favoured non-violence, there is clear evidence that during the time that negotiations were taking place in the early 1990s, Inkatha and ANC members were at war with each other, and ''Self-Protection Units (SPUs)'' and ''Self-Defence Units (SDUs)'' were formed, respectively, as their protection forces. As a Homeland leader, the power of Buthelezi depended on the South African state and economy. With anti-apartheid leaders inside South Africa and abroad demanding sanctions, Buthelezi came to be regarded more and more as a government puppet, along with other Bantustan leaders. His tribal loyalties and focus on ethnic interests over national unity were also criticised as contributing to the divisive programme of Inkatha. This led to a virtual civil war between Zulu loyalist supporters and ANC members in KwaZulu-Natal. Although Inkatha was allied with the

in the struggle against apartheid, they took opposing views on sanctions placed by the international community on South Africa. In 1984, Buthelezi travelled to the USA and met personally with President

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

and argued divestment was economically harming black South African workers. Fearing erosion of his power, Buthelezi collaborated with the South African Defence Force, and received military training for Zulu militia from SADF special forces starting in the 1980s as part of Operation Marion. Inkatha members were involved in several massacres in the run-up to South Africa's first democratic elections, including the Trust Feed massacre on 3 December 1988, and the Boipatong massacre on 17 June 1992. In November 1993, the IFP signed a solidarity pact with the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging, with the AWB providing the IFP with military training and agreeing that "Boer and Zulu would fight together for freedom and land should they be confronted by a common enemy". During the phase of establishing a constitution for South Africa and prior to the first free elections in South African history, bloodshed frequently occurred between Inkatha and the ANC. Both Inkatha and the ANC attempted to campaign in each other's KwaZulu-Natal strongholds, and were met with resistance, sometimes violent, by members of the opposing party. Inkatha was also initially opposed to parts of the proposed South African constitution regarding the internal politics of KwaZulu, and, in particular, they campaigned for an autonomous and sovereign Zulu king (King Goodwill Zwelethini kaBhekuzulu), as head of state. As a result, Inkatha initially refused to register its intention to participate in the 1994 election, a necessity in order to receive votes. However, once it became obvious that its efforts were not going to stop the election, the party was registered as the Inkatha Freedom Party at the eleventh hour. However, due to their opposition to the constitution, concessions were made. KwaZulu-Natal, and thus all the other provinces, were granted double ballots for provincial and national legislatures, greater provincial powers, the inclusion of ' KwaZulu' in the official name of the province (formerly ' Natal') and recognition of specific ethnic and tribal groups within the province. On election day, the IFP displayed its political strength by taking the majority of the votes for

Post-apartheid politics

After the dismantling of apartheid system in 1994, the IFP formed an uneasy coalition in the national government with their traditional political rival, the ANC. Despite these challenges, the coalition was to last until 2004, when the IFP joined the opposition benches. The ANC/IFP rivalry, characterised by sporadic acts of

political violence Political violence is violence which is perpetrated in order to achieve political goals. It can include violence which is used by a State (polity), state against other states (war), violence which is used by a state against civilians and non-st ...

, has been firm since 1993. In 2004, while campaigning in Vulindlela, an IFP bastion in the Pietermaritzburg Midlands region,

Thabo Mbeki Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki (; born 18 June 1942) is a South African politician who served as the 2nd democratic president of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008, when he resigned at the request of his party, the African National Cong ...

was reportedly debarred by an IFP-affiliated traditional leader in Mafunze. Previously the stronghold of Moses Mabhida, this area has long been the site of heated clashes between the parties. The IFP's manifesto seeks the resolution to a number of South African issues, especially the

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

crisis, in addition to addressing "unemployment, crime, poverty and corruption and prevent the consolidation of a one-party state;" said "party" is implied to be the ANC.

Gavin Woods report

Gavin Woods, one of the party's most respected MPs, drew up a highly critical 11-page internal discussion document at the request of the parliamentary caucus after a discussion in October 2004. In it, he said that the IFP "has no discernible vision, mission or philosophical base, no clear national ambitions or direction, no articulated ideological basis and offers little in the way of current, vibrant original and relevant policies". Woods also warned the party that "it must treat Buthelezi as the leader of a political party and not the political party itself". Woods pinpointed 1987 as the year when the IFP started losing ground as a political force. Before 1987, Woods contends, the party had a strong, unambiguous national identity. He further criticised the IFP's inability to end the ANC's campaign of violence against it, and an "impotent" attitude towards the attacks conducted against it by the ANC. At the first caucus discussion, Woods read out the 11-page paper in full and caucus members were generally positive about its frank nature. IFP president Mangosuthu Buthelezi was absent from that meeting but raised it at a meeting of the party's national council, which Woods did not attend. At a subsequent caucus meeting where both were present, Buthelezi read from a prepared statement attacking Woods. All the numbered copies were ordered to be "shredded" but some survived.

Electoral decline

After the 1994 elections, the IFP suffered a gradual decline in support. The party ceded control of the KwaZulu-Natal province to the ANC following the 2004 general election and its presence in Northern KwaZulu-Natal, its stronghold, started to become diminished. Party member Ziba Jiyane left the IFP to form the National Democratic Convention (Nadeco). Prominent IFP MP Gavin Woods and IFP ward councillors in KwaZulu-Natal joined his new party. After the party's results in the 2009 general elections, party members began debating a change in leadership for the 2011 local government elections. Buthelezi had previously announced his retirement but rescinded it. Senior IFP politician Zanele kaMagwaza-Msibi wanted Buthelezi to step down and had supporters advocating for her to take over the party's leadership. She later resigned from the party and formed a breakaway party, the National Freedom Party (NFP). The NFP obtained 2.4% of the national vote and 10.4% in KwaZulu-Natal in the 2011 municipal elections, mainly at the expense of the IFP. In the 2014 general elections, the party achieved its lowest support levels since 1994. The party lost its status as the official opposition in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature to the Democratic Alliance. Nationally, the party lost eight seats in the National Assembly. The NFP factor also contributed to the IFP's decline on the national and provincial level. Buthelezi later said in 2019 that the reason the party had lost support, was because of ANC president

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan names Nxamalala and Msholozi. Zuma was a for ...

being from the Zulu tribe. He insisted that the exodus voters leaving the IFP occurred on ethnic grounds.

Resurgence and succession

In the 2016 municipal elections, the party's support grew for the first time since 1994. The party had reclaimed support in Northern KwaZulu-Natal. The ANC and DA both suggested that the NFP not being able to participate in the election, contributed to the party's surge in support. The party managed to retain control of the Nkandla Local Municipality, the residence of former ANC president

. In October 2017, Buthelezi announced that he would step down as leader of the IFP at the party's National General Conference in 2019. The party's Extended National Council pledged its support to

, mayor of the Big Five Hlabisa Local Municipality, to succeed Buthelezi as party leader. The party grew its support in the May 2019 general elections and won back the title of official opposition in KwaZulu-Natal. Hlabisa became the leader of the opposition in the legislature, as he was the party's premier candidate. Buthelezi confirmed his intention to stand down as leader. Hlabisa was elected president of the IFP at the party's 35th National General Conference in August 2019.

Return to power in KwaZulu-Natal Province

In 2024, the IFP, which was by now in a coalition agreement with the ANC, as well as the Democratic Alliance (DA) and National Freedom Party (NFP) parties would regain the position of Premier of KwaZulu-Natal for the first time since 2004 after its candidate Thami Ntuli was elected by the province's legislature. Ntuli's election as premier was seen as a setback for the influence of Jacob Zuma, who by now had defected from the ANC to lead the KwaZulu-Natal based uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party. Ntuli defeated Zulu Nation deputy prime minister and MK party candidate Phathisizwe Chiliza with 41 votes to 39. He then took office and appointed his cabinet on 18 June 2024.

Election results

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 ...

, 2,058,294 , 10.54% , , – , , - !

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 ...

, 1,371,477 , 8.58% , , 9 , , - !

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 ...

, 1,088,664 , 6.97% , , 6 , , - !

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 ...

, 804,260 , 4.55% , , 10 , , - !

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 ...

, 441,854 , 2.40% , , 8 , , - !

, 588,839 , 3.38% , , 4 , , - !

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 ...

, 618,207 , 3.85% , , 3 ,

National Council of Provinces elections

, - ! Election ! Total # of
seats won ! +/– ! Government , - !

, , – , , - !

, , 1 , , - !

, , 3 , , - !

, , 1 , , - !

, , 0 ,

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 ,

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 ...

! 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 , - !

, 0.17% , , 0/56 , 0.51% , , 0/30 , 3.66% , , 3/86 , 50.32% , , 41/81 , 0.12% , , 0/40 , 1.52% , , 0/30 , 0.38% , , 0/30 , 0.42% , , 0/30 , 0.35% , , 0/42 , - !

, 0.33% , , 0/63 , 0.47% , , 0/30 , 3.51% , , 3/73 , 41.90% , , 34/80 , 0.34% , , 0/49 , 1.41% , , 0/30 , 0.52% , , 0/33 , 0.53% , , 0/30 , 0.18% , , 0/42 , - !

, 0.20% , , 0/63 , 0.35% , , 0/30 , 2.51% , , 2/73 , 36.82% , , 30/80 , , , , 0.96% , , 0/30 , 0.25% , , 0/33 , 0.24% , , 0/30 , 0.14% , , 0/42 , - !

, 0.10% , , 0/63 , 0.22% , , 0/30 , 1.49% , , 1/73 , 22.40% , , 18/80 , 0.06% , , 0/49 , 0.50% , , 0/30 , 0.15% , , 0/33 , 0.19% , , 0/30 , 0.06% , , 0/42 , - !

, 0.06% , , 0/63 , 0.11% , , 0/30 , 0.78% , , 1/73 , 10.86% , , 9/80 , 0.08% , , 0/49 , 0.26% , , 0/30 , 0.14% , , 0/33 , 0.06% , , 0/30 , 0.05% , , 0/42 , - !

, 0.05% , , 0/63 , 0.08% , , 0/30 , 0.89% , , 1/73 , 16.34% , , 13/80 , 0.05% , , 0/49 , 0.31% , , 0/30 , 0.08% , , 0/33 , , , , 0.03% , , 0/42 , - !

, 0.07% , , 0/73 , 0.19% , , 0/30 , 0.87% , , 1/80 , 18.07% , , 15/80 , 0.06% , , 0/64 , 0.47% , , 0/51 , 0.15% , , 0/38 , 0.08% , , 0/30 , 0.04% , , 0/42

KwaZulu-Natal provincial elections

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

, 1,844,070 , 50.32 , , – , , - !

, 1,241,522 , 41.90 , , 7 , , - !

, 1,009,267 , 36.82 , , 4 , , - !

, 780,027 , 22.40 , , 12 , , - !

, 416,496 , 10.86 , , 9 , , - !

, 588,046 , 16.34 , , 4 , , - !

, 633,771 , 18.07 , , 2 ,

Municipal elections

, - ! Election ! Votes ! % , - ! 1995–96 , align="right" , 757,704 , align="right" , 8.7% , - !

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 ...

, align="right" , , align="right" , 9.1% , - ! 2006 , align="right" , 2,120,142 , align="right" , 8.1% , - !

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 ...

, align="right" , 954,021 , align="right" , 3.6% , - !

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 ...

, 1,823,382 , 4.7% , - !

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 ...

, align="right" , 1,916,170 , align="right" , 6.3%

References

External links

Flag of the Inkatha Freedom PartyInkatha Freedom Party
official site
Speech by Mangosuthu Buthelezi
to

The Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (or simply Heritage) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1973, it took a leading role in the conservative movement in the 1980s during the Presi ...

, 19 June 1991. {{Authority control Organisations associated with apartheid Conservative parties in South Africa Right-wing parties Anti-communist parties Political parties of minorities in South Africa

Policies and ideology

History

Apartheid era

Post-apartheid politics

Gavin Woods report

Electoral decline

Resurgence and succession

Return to power in KwaZulu-Natal Province

Election results

National Assembly elections

National Council of Provinces elections

Provincial elections

KwaZulu-Natal provincial elections

Municipal elections

See also

References

Further reading

External links