The Freedom Front Plus (FF+) has intensified efforts to broaden its appeal among black voters by fielding black councillor candidates in the upcoming local government elections.
The scramble to secure black voters has seen the historically conservative Afrikaner-dominated party frame itself as a political alternative for South Africans of all races who value cultural identity, family values, responsibility and providing services.
However, the party has rejected the notion that it is widening its appeal only to increase its numbers, saying it has always been open to all races.
The FF+, whose origins and historical association with Afrikaner self-determination have contributed to its identification with the right of South African politics, wants to shed the image of being ‘verkrampt’ (restricted). Founded in 1994, it is gradually portraying itself as a political home for all South Africans.
Former GOOD Party deputy secretary Lehlohonolo Mtshali, who joined the FF+ in January, and Mangaung, Free State, councillor candidate Dudu Rancho are among those running under its banner. Both have rejected the idea that political affiliation should be based on race, contending that competent leadership and meeting community needs are essential to the nation’s political future.
Mtshali, who has been on the campaign trail for the party in Ekurhuleni, disputed the notion that it does not have room for black, coloured or Indian people and maintains that anyone who identifies with its principles can join.
Home for all
When Sunday World asked him if he was aware that the party’s constitution was advocating for community self-determination, particularly for Afrikaners, Mtshali cautioned against painting all Afrikaners with the same brush.
Mtshali also rejected the notion that he and others are being used to improve the party’s conservative image.
“Remember, when it comes to politics, at times it’s not about the representation of the skin; it’s about who is capable to lead,” he said.
Rancho, who joined the party three months ago, is seeking to represent it in Mangaung, within a province with a substantial farming community, some of whom do not reject allegations of a so-called white genocide and land seizures targeting white Afrikaner farmers.
Membership along racial lines
Rancho’s inspiration is the party’s former leader, Pieter Groenewald, who serves as minister of correctional services in the government of national unity. Rancho said Groenewald’s work in the department had influenced his decision to join the party. He takes exception to people framing the party’s membership along racial lines.
“If people have issues with blacks joining the VF Plus, why don’t they see any problem with those blacks who have joined the DA? Some of us were not there during apartheid, and the country has moved forward,” he told Sunday World.
Now under the leadership of Corné Mulder, the FF+ was founded by General Constand Viljoen, a former chief of the South African Defence Force, who entered politics during the transition to democracy.
FF+ national spokesperson Wouter Wessels told Sunday World that when election season rolled around, there were always questions about the party fielding candidates from other races.
“We had black candidates for very long already, since 2016. We have a lot of non-white candidates across the country and that is not even something that is strange. For the party to have a candidate from a non-white race shows that a lot more South Africans are saying we want to contribute to solutions of the problems we have in the country.”
Wessels said that showed that the FF+ had expanded its traditional political focus to include black South Africans. He also rejected the suggestion that minority rights were synonymous with only white rights.
“We are different communities and different minorities. So, minority rights speak to that and also to each language group being able to be unified with other groups in our diversity,” Wessels said.
He also dismissed claims that the party had gagged its black councillor candidates from doing interviews regarding their election campaigns.
“That is not true and I don’t even know who those people are you are referring to,” he said.
- The Freedom Front Plus (FF+) is fielding black councillor candidates in the upcoming local government elections to broaden its appeal among black voters.
- The party maintains it has always been open to all races and is portraying itself as a political home for all South Africans, emphasizing cultural identity, family values, and responsibility.
- Former GOOD Party deputy secretary Lehlohonolo Mtshali and Mangaung councillor candidate Dudu Rancho have joined the FF+ and reject race-based political affiliation, focusing instead on competent leadership.
- FF+ national spokesperson Wouter Wessels stated the party has had black candidates since 2016 and is expanding its political focus to include black South Africans.
- The FF+ rejects the idea that minority rights pertain only to white rights, emphasizing unity among diverse communities and denying claims that black candidates were gagged from interviews.
