Co-founder of the Cape Independence Advocacy Team, Phil Craig, joined BizNews founder Alec Hogg in one more discussion relating to the political arena. Craig argued that the Western Cape has secessionist parties on its agenda and, if truth be told, has already agreed to possess Cape Independence on its referendum. In accordance with Craig, it’s miles within one of the top hobby of the voter to possess a referendum that may presumably allow voter freedom between the DA and the Cape Independence celebration, alongside side: “Allowing of us to possess the democratic replacement within the referendum allowed of us which would maybe presumably be mighty extra free to vote within the local govt elections”. – Sharidyn Rogers
Phil Craig on parties that possess formally adopted Cape independence increasing from 0.1% in 2016 to 5.4% in 2021:
From my level of gape, we ended up exactly the set up we wanted to be, which is definite. We expected to possess secessionist parties between 5% and 6% and they ended up at 5.4%. So, we ended up exactly the set up we expected to be. That is conception to be one of many colossal misnomers in actuality, which is ranking of a terminal downside for us. Contributors always want to equate and presents a make a selection to the Cape Independence Birthday party or the Cape Partisan. [It] is clearly a extraordinarily shrimp celebration with Cape Independence. We’ve polled twice and all people knows that the overwhelming majority of Cape Independence supporters in actuality vote for the DA. I direct that’s a moderately logical location. They wish the DA as a national govt, they vote for the DA as a national govt. They upright never ranking it and, due to this truth, Cape Independence is what enables the of us of the Cape to ranking the government that they non-public vote casting for.
What we seen become a colossal develop. In 2016, parties that openly endorse Cape Independence – which clearly doesn’t consist of the DA – had 0.1% of the vote and that elevated to 5.4%, which become this window, up to 5% to 6%. So from that level of gape, we were happy, it become the set up we expected. What become said become very attention-grabbing. It become maybe the bigger describe, which become the valid ideological shift that we’ve viewed in these elections; a long way flung from the ranking of dominant centralist parties [the ANC and the EFF] against mighty extra regional federalists and yet devolved. I direct they name it the micro regional parties now. So, there’s a definite switch against of us taking management of their very appreciate conditions and that’s extraordinarily relevant and extremely definite for Cape Independence.
On classify secessionist parties:
It is possible you’ll presumably even possess Cape Independence expressly said in their manifestos or in their constitutions. There are three parties that enact that. There’s the Freedom Front Plus, there’s the Cape Colored Congress, and there may be the Cape Independence Birthday party. Freedom Front Plus got 3% of the vote, up from 0,7% in 2016, and a exiguous bit extra in 2019. The Cape Colored Congress is a original celebration that hasn’t contested sooner than. They got 1.8% of the vote, after which the Cape Independence Birthday party become up from 0.1% in 2016 to 0.5%. So, they’re the three parties included in that checklist.
On whether or now not the Western Cape will put secessionist parties on the agenda:
Absolutely. It is miles going to be on the agenda. I in actuality hope that the of us that’ve been elected in local govt elections will before the entire lot abet the of us that elected them within the capability in which they’ve been elected. That will seemingly be their first priority and rightly so. Cape Independence is already within the zeitgeist, it’s already below discussion. In point of fact, we already possess agreement that we’re going to possess referendums within the Western Cape and we already possess agreement that there’s going to be a inquire of on Cape Independence. So, this isn’t some watershed moment. We had that agreement sooner than the elections. [It was] conception to be one of many issues that we worked laborious for.
There become an working out that most of Cape Independence supporters vote DA and the huge majority of DA voters give a make a selection to Western Cape Independence. In many systems, how we arrived at the referendum agreement become an working out that it become in no person’s most effective hobby to pressure of us to get a replacement from vote casting for the DA and Cape Independence when they provide a make a selection to each and every. [Enabling] of us to possess the democratic replacement within the referendum allowed of us which would maybe presumably be mighty extra free to vote within the local govt elections. Unquestionably, Cape Independence become already being talked about. It is miles going to continue to be talked about within the City of Cape Town Council.
On whether or now not the referendum invoice will seemingly be put in location sooner than 2024:
The closing time I spoke to the DA, they were awaiting that the referendum invoice [the legislation has to fall in place first] become going to be sooner than the committee stage they were awaiting in November. Then that is determined by how it’s dealt with by the ANC and the replacement parties in Parliament. That’s the unknown part here. The DA were now not awaiting too mighty opposition. They were pondering around six months to peep this invoice by Parliament after which after that, clearly we’d must press on. We’re in uncharted territory and what we don’t know [we know that the ANC and the EFF are going to make a stand on Cape Independence] is, are they going to get the stand in parliament the set up they strive to terminate the invoice being put in location, which would indicate they were going against the Constitution? Or are they going to let that invoice scamper and get their stand at the referendum itself? Or are they going to let the referendum happen within the submit-referendum negotiations? So, that’s the unknown quantity here. We’re assuming about 18 months; if we snatch the invoice is handed inside ranking of six to 9 months after which maybe the identical any other time to ranking us against the referendum. Nonetheless I indicate, it’s suggested hypothesis however that’s the set up we’re at. That’s what we’re engaged on at this level in time, and we’ll clearly revise these timelines as we see what happens in parliament with the Electoral Commission Amendment Act invoice.
On the important thing takeaways from the 2021 local govt elections:
Before the entire lot, I would narrate that the ideological divide between the Western Cape and the comfort of South Africa has been affirmed most emphatically over any other time. As an example, within the Western Cape, the ANC and the EFF mixed got 23.8% of the vote. If we non-public away the Western Cape and the comfort of South Africa, they got 61.2% of the vote. We’ve got this determined – which has always been this determined – ideological divide between the Western Cape and the comfort of South Africa. Now we’re in a downside the set up 20.4% of voters within the Western Cape voted for the ANC. The celebration that’s making the complete most well-known political choices is doing so with the give a make a selection to of 1 in 5 voters; and four out of 5 voters possess rejected the celebration that’s making the complete most well-known choices and that’s frankly untenable. So, the basis for Cape Independence has been bolstered.
The DA is a federalist celebration, the Freedom Front is a federalist celebration, the IFP [Inkatha Freedom Party] is a federalist celebration. Then we’ve had all of these smaller local ones up in Cederberg, the Cederberg celebration CEFRA; we’ve viewed ICORSA enact effectively. We’ve viewed the Patriotic Alliance [win against] the regional celebration however they’re a undeniable hobby celebration by manner of the coloured vote, the Cape Colored Congress. We’ve viewed quite loads of residents’ association groups possess done effectively. When you set up this collectively, 65% of voters on this election within the Western Cape are vote casting for parties that give a make a selection to one thing other than the unitary dispute. They wish extra devolved energy, they prefer federalism or they prefer independence.
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