Ahead of the 8 May National Elections you would do well to acquaint yourself with the Political Parties registered on the National level for the elections.
These political parties are contesting for seats in the 2019 National Assembly elections on 8 May 2019.
Please note you STILL need to go to the polls on 8 May 2019 and VOTE in person .........
Today we introduce you to: Women Forward – WF
Women Forward (WF) started as an activist movement in 2007, and has Struggle royalty behind it in the form of its president, former government employee and gender activist Nana Ngobese-Nxumalo, granddaughter of Albert Luthuli. The party has previously said that its strongest support is in Limpopo, due to its focus on rural development and female unemployment. It contested the elections in 2009, but won only about 5,000 votes. On this occasion, it is aiming for a modest two parliamentary seats. WF wants to see more women at the highest political levels and points out there has never been a female finance minister or auditor-general. Ngobese-Nxumalo recently called for the castration of rapists – if an execution is not an option.
Nana Ngobese founded the political Party in 2008 to fight for gender equity and equality. Although there had been progress in elevating the women’s agenda prior to 2005, it had soon become apparent in the South African politics that women were being left behind in getting themselves into the political space.Women have been voting in numbers but when the positions were allocated they were at the mercy of the leadership in various political parties where it was not easy to determine their own agenda as women.
Women Forward (WF) was officially launched on the 25th June 2008 it was the beginning of a women’s movement. WF contested the national and provincial elections as an independent political party focusing on women’s agenda in 2009. We had a presence in Gauteng, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal, however at the end of the electoral season awareness was raised about the party in other provinces. The party did not gain any seat, we regarded this as a dry run, and great lessons were learnt about electoral processes and election campaigns.
In South Africa women comprises more than 52% of the electoral vote but they hardly feature in the leadership of key areas in the economy and politics. We have seen recently the decline in numbers at senior political levels. We believe that the time has come for WF to pick up where we left off and march toward true equality for all women in South Africa.
Membership is open to men and women.
WF Manifesto: http://wf.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/WF-MANIFESTO-MARCH-2019.pdf
What the Political Parties are saying on Twitter:
This information is gathered from the IEC and the above party website or publicly available documents.
Click here to see ALL 2019’s registered national parties.
Alan Straton
Latest posts by Alan Straton (see all)
- Border Management Conference and Expo 2026 Brings Government, Industry and Regional Partners Together in Pretoria on 18 November - 15 November 2026
- Mann Made Media Puts AI Automation and AI Video on the Table for 2027 Plans - 15 November 2026
- Balwin’s Black November Savings Land on Four Pretoria East Estates - 14 November 2026
- RS SOUTH AFRICA APPOINTS KHUPHUKILE NDEBELE AS FINANCE DIRECTOR - 14 November 2026
- Designer Pool Covers Passes 4,500 Installations as Automatic Cover Demand Grows - 14 November 2026
