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ActionSA

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ActionSA
PresidentHerman Mashaba
ChairpersonMichael Beaumont
SpokespersonLerato Ngobeni
Chief strategistAndré Coetzee
Director of operationsJohn Moodey
Communications directorSam Mgobozi
Chief director of governanceNasiphi Moya
TreasurerSuren Panday
FounderHerman Mashaba
Founded29 August 2020; 4 years ago (2020-08-29)
Split fromDemocratic Alliance
Ideology
Alleged:
Political positionRight-wing[7]
National affiliation
Colours  Green
National Assembly
6 / 400
National Council of Provinces
1 / 90
Provincial Legislatures
5 / 487
City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality
44 / 270
Website
www.actionsa.org.za

ActionSA is a political party in South Africa established in 2020 by Herman Mashaba, a former mayor of Johannesburg, shortly after he left the Democratic Alliance (DA).[8]

The party states that it has been established to "set South Africa free from the restraints of a broken political system and build a prosperous, non-racial and secure future for all its people."[9] and that it follows the ideal of "Act as One to build a prosperous, non-racial and secure future for all South Africans."[10]

In the 2024 general election, ActionSA won six seats in the National Assembly with 1.2% of the vote.[11] In June 2024, ActionSA declined an invitation to join the ANC-led Government of National Unity.[12]

Formation

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Party launch

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On 29 August 2020, a former Mayor of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba, announced that he had started a new political party, which would be known as ActionSA and was intending to run for the three Gauteng metro cities (Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane) in the 2021 local government elections.[10] The party soon gained notoriety as it brought together former politicians who were dissatisfied with big parties such as the DA and ANC. Makhosi Khoza, Vytjie Mentor and David Tembe were amongst the former ANC politicians who joined the newly formed ActionSA.[8] On 5 October 2020, former DA provincial leader, John Moodey, announced that he had joined ActionSA.[13][14] Soon, thereafter, he was followed by numerous former DA councillors, along with leaders like Abel Tau, Funzi Ngobeni and former DA Johannesburg youth leader, Lincoln Machaba.[15][16]

Noting how many of its leaders came from the DA, the party's inaugural spokesperson said that "the party was not formed as part of a detraction for the DA, but the need to create an alternative towards a shared future."[17]

The party was quickly criticised by then newly elected leader of the DA, John Steenhuisen, who noted that every time a voter supports a small party like ActionSA, "the net result is the strengthening of the ANC. We've been through this scenario so many times. As soon as the elections are over, voters who tested the waters with one of these new start-ups realise they got zero bang for their buck from a one-man party with a regional footprint, and they return to the DA. But by then the damage is done for the next five years." Steenhuisen's critique was not at these party's policies but rather that they are "too small" to impart any change.[18] This criticism was followed by Steenhuisen's chief-of-staff's opinion piece which labelled ActionSA as "EFF-lite in disguise."[19] In an open letter to Steenhuisen, Moodey criticised this opinion piece and what he called the DA's "race denialism" and defended ActionSA's vision and its leaders' reasons for leaving the DA. Moodey claimed that "Herman left the DA because it gave up on the project of being a serious political party that could challenge and unseat the ANC."[20]

IEC registration

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A month after the party was launched, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) rejected the party's application to register itself as an official political party.[21] This was due to another party, Party of Action, claiming that ActionSA had stolen its logo. On this claim, Mashaba noted that "[t]he IEC’s decision is based on a perceived similarity with another political party and the use of the SA flag in our logo. We have already written to the IEC, initiating our right to appeal their decision as a result of its incorrect application of the law. We regard the IEC to have acted irrationally in their decision. We submit that our identifying features remain sufficiently different from the Party of Action (POA), a political party that has never contested elections before despite registering."[21]

The party's appeal was again rejected by the IEC on the same basis.[22][23]

On 13 December 2020, the party was officially registered with the IEC, notably under a new logo.[24][25][26]

Ideology and principles

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Values

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According to the party's website, the party has seven core values:[27]

  • Electoral reform (Direct democracy)
  • Economic prosperity
  • Non-racialism
  • Quality education
  • Social justice
  • Ethical leadership
  • Rule of law

The party's current main policies focus on what it calls the solution blueprints on:

  • Climate change and the environment[28]
  • Electoral reform[29]
  • Professional public service[30]
  • Ethical leadership[31]
  • Immigration[31]
  • Rule of law[32]
  • Land reform and housing[33]
  • Quality education[34]
  • Social justice[35]
  • Non-racialism[36]
  • Economic prosperity[36]

The party also has made strong calls for tougher immigration policy, and the party's leader, Herman Mashaba, has made various statements about immigrants that some observers have criticised as xenophobic.[37] However, during the party's 2024 election campaign, the party condemned xenophobia and called for simplifying legal immigration to South Africa, particularly for skilled workers.[38]

Election results

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In 2024, the party contested its first national and provincial elections[39] in South Africa.

National Assembly elections

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Election Party leader Total votes Share of vote Seats +/– Government
2024 Herman Mashaba 192,373 1.20%[a]
6 / 400
 Increase 6 in opposition
  1. ^ From 2024, seats in the National Assembly are determined by a combination of the national ballot, and the nine regional ballots. Only the national ballot figures are shown here.

National Council of Provinces elections

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Election Total # of
seats won 		+/– Government
2024
1 / 90
 Increase 1 in opposition

Provincial elections

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Election[40] Eastern Cape Free State Gauteng Kwazulu-Natal Limpopo Mpumalanga North-West Northern Cape Western Cape
% Seats % Seats % Seats % Seats % Seats % Seats % Seats % Seats % Seats
2024 0.46 0/73 0.54 0/30 4.16 3/80 0.27 0/80 0.65 0/64 0.50 1/51 1.70 1/38 0.51 0/30 0.29 0/42

wane and Ekurhuleni in Gauteng as well as eThekwini, KwaDukuza and Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal. It won 90 seats in the six municipal councils, including a ward in Newcastle.[41]

Election Votes % Seats
2021[42]
547,905
2.34%
90

By-elections

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In July 2023, ActionSA participated in a City of Johannesburg by-election in Ward 7. The party grew its support from 5% to 14%, finishing third behind the Patriotic Alliance and African National Congress.[43]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "South Africa • Africa Elects". Africa Elects. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  2. ^ "NON-RACIALISM". ActionSA. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  3. ^ "Corruption". ActionSA. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  4. ^ "South Africa: Shock poll shows ANC heading towards 2024 coalition". 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  5. ^ "Analysis: Who is behind South Africa's xenophobic nationalism?". 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  6. ^ "South Africa is slowly souring on its ruling party". The Economist. 2022. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  7. ^ Hunter, Qaanitah. "Why South Africa's opposition may struggle to unseat the ruling ANC". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 31 May 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Ready for ActionSA: John Moodey jumps on Mashaba bandwagon". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  9. ^ "Former Joburg mayor Herman Mashaba launches his new ACTIONSA party". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  10. ^ a b Tandwa, Lizeka. "Mashaba launches new political party, ropes in former ANC leaders". News24. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  11. ^ "NPE Results Dashboard 2024". results.elections.org.za.
  12. ^ "ActionSA rejects invitation to join the GNU". ol.co.za. Retrieved 2 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Former DA Gauteng leader John Moodey joins Mashaba's ActionSA". BusinessLIVE. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  14. ^ "DA JHB youth chair and councillor joins Action SA". www.polity.org.za. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  15. ^ Tandwa, Lizeka. "Another one bites the dust – DA JHB youth leader and councillor joins Action SA". News24. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  16. ^ "DA Tshwane leader jumps ship to join Herman Mashaba's new party". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  17. ^ Wire, News24 (29 August 2020). "DA's John Steenhuisen lashes out at splinter parties after Mashaba launches Action SA". The Citizen. Retrieved 14 December 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ Smith, Ryan (1 December 2020). "OPINIONISTA: Herman Mashaba's ActionSA is EFF-lite in disguise". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  19. ^ "Dear John, from John". ActionSA. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  20. ^ Deklerk, Aphiwe. "IEC rejects Herman Mashaba's bid to register his new party Action SA". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  21. ^ a b Kubheka, Thando. "IEC rejects Action SA's appeal to be registered as political party". ewn.co.za. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  22. ^ "Action SA's appeal to register as a political party rejected". SABC News - Breaking news, special reports, world, business, sport coverage of all South African current events. Africa's news leader. 10 November 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  23. ^ Tandwa, Lizeka. "Herman Mashaba takes aim at IEC after Action SA loses appeal over party status". News24. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  24. ^ "Herman Mashaba's ActionSA is finally a registered political party". BusinessLIVE. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  25. ^ Hlatshaneni, Simnikiwe (17 September 2020). "It's official: Mashaba's ActionSA is registered with IEC". The Citizen. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  26. ^ "The Era of Action is Upon Us". ActionSA. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  27. ^ "ActionSA – Climate Change Blueprint". ActionSA. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  28. ^ "ActionSA – Electoral Reform Blueprint". ActionSA. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  29. ^ "ActionSA – Professional Public Service Blueprint". ActionSA. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  30. ^ "ActionSA – Ethical Leadership Blueprint". ActionSA. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  31. ^ a b "ActionSA – Rule of Law Blueprint". ActionSA. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  32. ^ "ActionSA – Land Reform and Housing Blueprint". ActionSA. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  33. ^ "ActionSA – Quality Education Blueprint". ActionSA. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  34. ^ "ActionSA – Social Justice Blueprint". ActionSA. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  35. ^ "ActionSA – Non-racialism Blueprint". ActionSA. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  36. ^ a b "ActionSA – Economic Prosperity Blueprint". ActionSA. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  37. ^ Reporter, amaBhungane (28 April 2022). "Analysis: Who is behind South Africa's xenophobic nationalism?". amaBhungane.
  38. ^ "South African election turns populist as parties play anti-foreigner card". Financial Times. 31 March 2024.
  39. ^ Mbolekwa, Sisanda. "ActionSA, Rise Mzansi submit required signatures, deposits to IEC for May 29 election". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  40. ^ "Results Dashboard". www.elections.org.za. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  41. ^ "News24". News24. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  42. ^ "Local Government Elections 2021 Results Summary – All Ballots" (PDF). elections.org.za. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  43. ^ Sussman, Wayne (29 June 2023). "Patriotic Alliance trounces ANC in Ennerdale, Finetown by-election". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
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