National People's Party (South Africa)


The National People's Party is a political party registered on a national level with the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa. It came into existence when Badih Chaaban, a member of the Cape Town City Council crossed the floor from the Africa Muslim Party in an attempt to wrest control of the city council from the Democratic Alliance-led multi-party coalition. The party was set up by Chaaban shortly before the floor crossing period in 2007 with the help of David Sasman, its interim leader. It should not be confused with the National People's Party, renamed the Minority Front, led by Amichand Rajbansi during the apartheid era.

Persons

Members of the NPP include:
The NPP used to hold three council seats on the Cape Town City Council and controlled the Kannaland Local Municipality and the Cape Winelands District Municipality in coalition with the ANC. After the latest local government elections, their position has mostly been reduced to a small number of seats in opposition on a limited number of councils. NPP however governed Oudtshoorn Local Municipality in coalition with ANC and ICOSA between 2011 and 2015, when the municipality was placed under administration.

2011 local government elections

The party challenged the IEC's refusal to accept their candidate nomination lists for the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality's council in the upcoming municipal elections, in the Electoral Court. Judge Pillay of the Electoral Court found that the IEC had been overly zealous in applying the cut-off time, and ordered the Commission to allow the NPP to contest the elections.

NPP during the apartheid era

created a party called the National People's Party in August 1981 from the remains of the South African Indian Council. In the 1984 election for the House of Delegates, part of the Tricameral Parliament then created by the South African Constitution of 1983, the NPP won 18 of the 40 seats. The NPP led by Rajbansi became the Minority Front.
The NPP of the apartheid era is not related to the post-2007 NPP.