IFP

About the party

The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) draws its support mainly from rural KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and Gauteng's migrant worker hostels. Delayed until June 1996 by boundary disputes, KZN's initial local elections saw the IFP win the province overall, despite heavy losses to the ANC in urban areas like Durban. The party's national vote share declined during the 2000 and 2006 local elections as its base contracted to rural northern KZN. Its worst performance came in 2011, when the breakaway National Freedom Party (NFP) siphoned off voters, dropping the IFP's national vote share to 3.6%. The party rebounded in 2016, winning 11 municipalities outright and joining a coalition to govern Johannesburg. In 2021, under Velenkosi Hlabisa, the IFP grew its national vote share to 5.7%, reclaimed key northern KZN battlegrounds, and expanded its influence across several hung councils.