United Independent Movement

The United Independent Movement is a South African political party founded by Neil de Beer, an international business man, former Secretary-General of the African Union and former national security advisor to Nelson Mandela.

United Independent Movement
AbbreviationUIM
PresidentNeil de Beer
Secretary-GeneralJacques Taljaard
Vice-PresidentFatima Abdool
FounderNeil de Beer
Founded2 August 2021 (2021-08-02)
HeadquartersSomerset West, Western Cape
SloganTogether we will
National Assembly
0 / 400
NCOP
0 / 90
Provincial Legislatures
0 / 430
Website
uimsa.org

Formation

The party initially formed as a civil society movement after de Beer had lost faith in the African National Congress (ANC). The movement supported the country's independent candidacy programme. The future of independent candidates being allowed to contest South Africa's general elections however remain uncertain, and due to this uncertainty the UIM registered as a political party on 2 August 2021.

Election campaigns

De Beer announced in November 2020 that he had the intention of becoming the youngest ever President of South Africa.[1]

The party registered for the 2021 South African municipal elections, and contested seven metros and 32 municipalities Nationally, with de Beer as a candidate for Mayor of Cape Town. The UIM won 3 METRO seats in the 2021 LGE. 1 Seat each in the City of Johannesburg, Ethekwini and the City of Cape Town.[2]

The UIM polled 12th out of 56 parties in the City of Cape Town, 17th out of 97 parties contesting in the Western Cape Province and 26th out of 325 contesting parties Nationally.

Political Beliefs

In March 2021, de Beer said in an interview that he and his supporters were "tired" of the "ultra-left and the ultra-right" in South African politics and that he and his party would represent the "moderate middle".[3]

As part of his campaign for Mayor of Cape Town, in August 2021 de Beer stated that he believes the root cause of criminality is poor social-economic conditions, which must be addressed, but simultaneously, he also stated that he and UIM would have a "zero tolerance" approach to gang violence and "domestic terrorism".[4] In September 2021, de Beer stated two policies which caused him to leave the ANC were the nationalisation of the Reserve Bank and land without compensation, policies de Beer believed destroyed Foreign Direct Investment into South Africa. De Beer has suggested that South Africa should instead draw revenue from its exports and reinvest that into local industries.[5]

In September 2021 UIM Vice-President Fatima Abdool stated that the party is an open and inclusive one built on Christian values.[6]

References
  1. Dolley, Caryn (10 November 2020). "DAILY MAVERICK INTERVIEW: Neil De Beer reinvented – the bolognaise-loving, ex-ANC spy intent on becoming South Africa's president". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  2. Solomons, Tarryn-Leigh. "Nelson Mandela's former security advisor and Umkhonto we Sizwe agent, Neil de Beer, launches political party". www.iol.co.za. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  3. Balson, Scott (29 March 2021). An open discussion with controversial politician Neil de Beer (in English and Afrikaans). South Africa. Event occurs at 10:31. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  4. Moloto, Refilwe (30 August 2021). "Afrikaner Neil De Beer on why he fought apartheid, and is now fighting the ANC".
  5. Senekal de We, Adri (6 September 2021). "Editor's note: There's a dark cloud in South Africa and we're all praying for that silver lining".
  6. Fatima Abdool (23 September 2021). UIM on RELIGION, LGBTQI & ABORTION. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
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