African Christian Democratic Party

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox political party The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) is a South African political party founded in 1993. It is a conservative Christian party based on Biblical principles.<ref name="acdpvision">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The leader of the party is Kenneth Meshoe.<ref name="acdpwhos">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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 and Tshwane.

As of 2024, the ACDP has three members in the South African Parliament, and one member each in the provincial legislatures of Western Cape, and Gauteng. It also has 22 municipal councillors across the country.<ref name="IEC2016dashboard">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Policy

The party's 2019 manifesto focused on seven social challenges, under the slogan "Unite - Build - Grow": employment, economic growth, education, health, safety & security, good governance and property rights & rural development.<ref name="acdp2019manifesto">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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."<ref name="acdplegacy">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

It is anti-abortion<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and supports the death penalty<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> for certain heinous crimes.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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 condoms 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.Template:Citation needed

The party opposed the provision of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, 2007 which reduced the homosexual age of consent from 19 to 16, making it equal to the heterosexual age of consent.<ref name="acdp">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

History

According to newspaper reports at the time, the ACDP was founded on 9 December 1993.<ref name="argief">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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).<ref name="acdp2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This is because the party's first official congress took place 100 days before the elections.<ref name="facebook">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The party's original manifesto included Christian norms, religious freedom, a freemarket system, and human rights under a federal governmental system.<ref name="argief2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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<ref name="elections">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and 1.59% of the votes at provincial level.<ref name="IECresults">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> They were now the seventh largest party, with seven seats in the National Assembly and eight seats at provincial level.<ref name="elections2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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.<ref name="ieddashboard">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> 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.<ref name="IECresults" />

National Assembly elections

Template:Election table |- ! Election<ref name="dash">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> ! Total votes ! Share of vote ! Seats ! +/– ! Government |- ! 1994 | 88,104 | 0.45% | Template:Composition bar | – | Template:No2 |- ! 1999 | 228,975 | 1.43% | Template:Composition bar | Template:Increase 4 | Template:No2 |- ! 2004 | 250,272 | 1.60% | Template:Composition bar | Template:Increase 1 | Template:No2 |- ! 2009 | 142,658 | 0.81% | Template:Composition bar | Template:Decrease 4 | Template:No2 |- ! 2014 | 104,039 | 0.57% | Template:Composition bar | Template:Steady ±0 | Template:No2 |- ! 2019 | 146,262 | 0.84% | Template:Composition bar | Template:Increase 1 | Template:No2 |- !2024 | 96,575 | 0.60%Template:Efn |Template:Composition bar |Template:Decrease 1 |Template:No2 |} Template:Notelist

Provincial elections

Template:Election table ! rowspan=2 | Election ! colspan=2 | Eastern Cape ! colspan=2 | Free State ! colspan=2 | Gauteng ! colspan=2 | KwaZulu-Natal ! colspan=2 | Limpopo ! colspan=2 | Mpumalanga ! colspan=2 | North-West ! colspan=2 | Northern Cape ! colspan=2 | Western Cape |- ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats ! % !! Seats |- ! 1994 | 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 |- ! 1999 | 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 |- ! 2004 | 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 |- ! 2009 | 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 |- ! 2014 | 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 |- ! 2019 | 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 |- ! 2024<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> | 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

Template:Election table |- ! Election ! Votes ! % |- ! 1995–96 | 66,985 | 0.8% |- ! 2000 | | 1.3% |- ! 2006 | 251 468 | 1.3% |- ! 2011 | 165,602 | 0.6% |- ! 2016<ref name="iec_summary">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> | 124,429 | 0.4% |- ! 2021<ref name="iec_summary_2021">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> | 217,627 | 0.71% |- |}

Logo

The ACDP logo symbolises the party's biblical Christian 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.<ref name="acdp3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

References

• History of the ACDP

External links

• African Christian Democratic Party official site
• ACDP Tshwane Region
• Flag of the African Christian Democratic Party