African Independent Congress

The African Independent Congress (AIC) is a minor political party in South Africa.

African Independent Congress
President	Mandla Galo[1]
Founded	12 December 2005 (2005-12-12)
Split from	African National Congress
Ideology	Social conservatism
Political position	Centre-right
Colours	Orange
National Assembly seats	2 / 400
Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature seats	0 / 63
Politics of South Africa Political parties Elections

Founded in Matatiele on December 12, 2005,[2] the AIC was a protest against the location of the area within the boundaries of the Eastern Cape province rather than KwaZulu-Natal as a result of the 12th Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa put forward by the ANC government. The disputed boundary change went to court; it was eventually confirmed by the 13th Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa.

The AIC won ten seats in the Matatiele municipality in the 2006 local government elections, seven in the 2011 elections, and one seat in the Eastern Cape provincial legislature in the 2009 elections.[1] In the 2014 South African general election, the AIC received 97,462 votes, 0.53% of the total, winning three seats in the National Assembly. It retained its seat in the Eastern Cape Provincial Legislature. The party did not run a candidate in seven of the nine provinces, and was thought to have only a small, regional base. Some analysts believe the party picked up mistaken votes due to its proximity on the ballot with, and close similarities to, the name and logo of the African National Congress.[3][4]

In the South African municipal elections of 2016, AIC support declined further in Matatiele, but it campaigned for the first time in many other municipalities, winning a total of 55 seats across eight of the nine provinces.[5][6]

In March 2019, in the run-up to the 2019 general election, the party's national executive was dissolved by a court ruling, the aftermath of disputes between factions supporting the party's president Mandla Galo, and deputy president Lulama Ntshayisa, over credentials for the elective congress, which took place in August 2018. The party was left with R83 in its bank account due to the legal costs, leaving its participation in the national elections in doubt.[7] In the 2019 general election, the AIC won 48,107 votes (0.28%) and two seats in the National Assembly, one fewer than in 2014; it did not win any seats in the provincial legislatures, so losing the one previously held in the Eastern Cape.

In December 2019 following instability in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality council, covering Port Elizabeth and surrounding areas, and after the deposition of mayors from the DA and UDM, Thsonono Buyeye of the AIC became acting executive mayor.