NEW REPUBLIC PARTY

Afrikaans Nuwe Republikeinse Party (NRP) South African political party founded in 1977 as the direct successor to the United Party (q.v.), which had governed South Africa from 1934 to 1948 and served as the major opposition party from 1948 on. The majority faction of the United Party, seeing its party disintegrating by defections to other new parties and to the ruling National Party, decided formally to disband the party on June 28, 1977. On the next day the group founded the New Republic Party. The new party then had a holdover of 23 seats in the House of Assembly; the next year, in the general elections, the representation dropped to 10 members. In the elections of 1981 the representation declined further, to eight seats. The party's position as the major liberal opposition to the National Party had decisively been yielded to the Progressive Federal Party. Generally liberal on nonracial questions, the New Republic Party favours a new federation of races governed by a parliament controlled by whites but containing representatives from other racial groups.