Al Jama-ah
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Al Jama-ah الجماعة | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Leader | Ganief Hendricks |
| Founded | 23 April 2007 |
| Headquarters | Howard Centre, Pinelands, Cape Town |
| Ideology | |
| Political position |
|
| Colours | Green Black Red |
| National Assembly seats | 1 / 400 |
| National Council of Provinces | 0 / 90 |
| Cape Town City Council | 3 / 231 |
| Party flag | |
 | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Al Jama-ah (Arabic: الجماعة, lit. 'the Congregation') is a South African political party. It was formed in 2007 by present leader Ganief Hendricks and contested the 2009, 2014 and 2019 national elections.[4]
The party aims to support Muslim rights and interests, though the party states that it supports working for the shared interest of all South Africans from different religious and cultural backgrounds.[5][6] The flag of Al Jama-ah depicts a white gim (ج, the first letter in its Arabic name), upon a field consisting of the other Islamic colours. In January 2023, party member Thapelo Amad became Mayor of Johannesburg.[7] He resigned in April and was replaced by fellow party member Kabelo Gwamanda.
History[edit]
Until 2019, the party had no elected representatives nationally or provincially although it came close in both the 2009 and 2014 elections, and won nine seats at the local level in the 2016 municipal elections.
It made a breakthrough in 2019, winning its first national representative (becoming the first Islam-affiliated party to do so), as well as one seat in the Western Cape legislature.
In October 2019, its member of parliament for the Western Cape, Izgak De Jager, was replaced by Galil Brinkhuis after De Jager was accused of not complying with an agreement to pay 50% of his gross salary to the party. De Jager in turn stated that the agreement was to pay 50% of the net, not gross salary, and accused the party of failing to disclose its debt to its members.[8]
In January 2023, Al Jama-ah's Thapelo Amad was chosen as Mayor of Johannesburg with the support of the African National Congress.[7] He resigned in April and was replaced by fellow party member Kabelo Gwamanda.
Ideology and principles[edit]
Al Jama-ah is a social democratic party[9] with a focus on food and water security, education, and economic equality.
Economic policy[edit]
The party aims to eliminate value-added tax on essential food items such as bread, milk, and eggs. Further, it believes in legislation promoting land reform and the equitable distribution of the means of production.[9] It also aims to implement "non-discriminatory socioeconomic policies" and encourage entrepreneurship.[10]
Education[edit]
The main educational aims of the party are to provide free textbooks and stationary at all education levels. It also wants to improve the quality of public schooling to dismantle the legacy of unequal access to education left by Apartheid. Further, it believes in an adult basic education program to improve national literacy.[10]
Health care[edit]
Al Jama-ah supports a high quality public health care system. It wants to implement national health insurance and improve the management of hospitals and health centers. Further, it aims to set up mobile clinics in areas with poor health care access.[10]
Muslim marriages[edit]
Al Jama-ah championed the introduction and passing of two private member's bills.[11] The Registration of Muslim Marriages bill introduced Muslim marriages into South African law[12]. The second bill aimed to reform the Divorce Act of 1997 to comply with the new marriage legislation[13].
Election results[edit]
National Assembly[edit]
| Election | Total votes | Share of vote | Seats | +/– | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 25,947 | 0.15 | 0 / 400 | – | extraparliamentary |
| 2014 | 25,976 | 0.14 | 0 / 400 | – | extraparliamentary |
| 2019 | 31,468 | 0.18 | 1 / 400 |  1 | in opposition |
Provincial elections[edit]
| Election[14][15] | Eastern Cape | Free State | Gauteng | Kwazulu-Natal | Limpopo | Mpumalanga | North-West | Northern Cape | Western Cape | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| % | Seats | % | Seats | % | Seats | % | Seats | % | Seats | % | Seats | % | Seats | % | Seats | % | Seats | |
| 2014 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0.62% | 0/42 |
| 2019 | 0.15% | 0/63 | – | – | 0.18% | 0/73 | 0.28% | 0/80 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 0.86% | 1/42 |
Municipal elections[edit]
In a by-election in November 2020, Al-Jama-ah won a ward in the City of Johannesburg from the Democratic Alliance.[16]
| Election | Votes | % | +/– |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011[17] | 13,227 | 0.04% | – |
| 2016[18] | 36,891 | 0.10% | +0.06 |
| 2021[19] | 61,189 | 0.20% | +0.10 |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Ebrahim, Shaazia (31 January 2019). "Al Jama-ah Party: We'll Tackle Inequality With Islam And Ubuntu". thedailyvox. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
- ^ Lagardien, Ismail (19 November 2020). "Al Jama-ah: The small Islamic political party with a narrow vision and big ambitions". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
- ^ De Barros, Luiz (2 February 2023). "New Johannesburg mayor is from openly queerphobic party". Mamba. Retrieved 7 September 2023.
- ^ "Final List of Parties to contest the 2009 Elections". Polity.org.za. 11 March 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2009.
- ^ "Al Jama-ah's Constitution 2023 – Aljama-ah Muslim Political Party". www.aljama.co.za. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
- ^ "Mainfesto – Aljama-ah Muslim Political Party". www.aljama.co.za. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
- ^ a b Ramushwana, Alpha. "Al Jama-ah's Thapelo Amad is Johannesburg's new mayor". ewn.co.za. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
- ^ newsroom (6 December 2019). "Al Jama-ah rocked by internal politics – Voice of the Cape". Retrieved 11 October 2021.
- ^ a b Haffajee, Ferial (16 May 2024). "Al Jama-ah manifesto: food baskets, NHI and digital divide". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ a b c "manifesto – Aljama-ah Muslim Political Party". www.aljama.co.za. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "The Marriage Bill Explained – Aljama-ah Muslim Political Party". www.aljama.co.za. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "Registration of Muslim Marriages Bill". ISBN 978-1-4850-0837-8. Retrieved 2024/06/01.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|access-date=(help)CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Muslim Religious Marriage Bills 2022 – Aljama-ah Muslim Political Party". www.aljama.co.za. Retrieved 1 June 2024.
- ^ "Election Resources on the Internet: Republic of South Africa General Election Results Lookup".
- ^ "Results Dashboard". www.elections.org.za. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
- ^ Khumalo, Juniour. "The DA was the biggest loser in this week's by-elections". Citypress. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- ^ "Detailed results" (PDF). elections.org.za. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
- ^ "Results Summary – All Ballots" (PDF). elections.org.za. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- ^ "IEC Results Dashboard". results.elections.org.za. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
