Referendum Party (South Africa)

The Referendum Party (RP) is a single-issue political party in South Africa established to compete in the 2024 general election and force the Western Cape premier to call a referendum on Cape independence as its coalition condition. The party was founded in November 2023 in response to Western Cape premier Alan Winde denying the Western Cape a referendum on Cape independence in October 2023.

The Referendum Party does not seek to remove the Democratic Alliance (DA) from the Western Cape government, but to demand the Premier call a referendum as their coalition condition. As such, the party attempted to join the DA's Multi-Party Charter (MPC) national alliance, however the party application was rejected due to the party's singular support for Cape independence. This is despite fellow MPC member the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) also being in favour of Cape independence.

The FF+, RP and CapeXit NPO separately signed an electoral pact binding the parties to require a referendum on independence as part of any coalition condition in the Western Cape.

The party is led by Phil Craig, who was previously involved in the founding of the Cape Independence Advocacy Group. According to Craig, the Referendum Party is styled after the Brexit Party and Brexit Party members were consulted to help inform the party's policies.

History
The Referendum Party has its roots in the Cape Independence Advocacy Group (CIAG), a political lobby group set up to lobby the DA-led Western Cape government to hold a referendum on independence. After years of negotiations the CIAG together with other organisations which included the Freedom Front Plus, CapeXit, the Swartland Aksie Groep and others sent an ultimatum to Alan Winde with the backing of 30k signatures. It asked the premier to either call a referendum on independence or ask the president of South Africa to call one. The Premier refused.

As a result, the CIAG launched the Referendum Party, to provide a safe haven for DA voters who also want a referendum on independence. The party differs from other pro-independence parties in that it is single issue and does not seek to unseat the Democratic Alliance.

National Assembly elections
! Election ! Party leader ! Total votes ! Share of vote ! Seats ! +/– ! Government !2024
 * Phil Craig
 * 3,834
 * 0.02%
 * New
 * Extra-parliamentary
 * }
 * }

Provincial elections
! rowspan=2 | Election ! colspan=2 | Western Cape ! % !! Seats ! 2024
 * 0.26% || 0/42
 * }