Republican Nationalist Party (the Cape)
Republican Nationalist Party Parduv Restarka Nationalista | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | RNP, PRN |
| Leader | Kil Furey |
| First Secretary | Saoirse Kairtus |
| Founder | Melvyn Kalma |
| Founded |
|
| Preceded by | Political Office of the National Revolutionary Army |
| Headquarters | 12 Republic Ave, Cape Town, Cape Province |
| Newspaper | National Central News |
| Think tank | Institute of National Policy |
| Youth wing | League of Republican Youth |
| Overseas wing | League of Republicans Abroad |
| Education wing | Institute of Revolutionary Practice |
| Armed wing | National Revolutionary Army (1886-1922, 1935-1951) |
| Labour wing | Association of Republican Labour |
| Membership (2021) |  23,981,211 |
| Ideology | Restarkism Populism Cape nationalism |
| Political position | Big tent |
| Colors | Blue |
| Slogan | "The Party of the Cape" |
| Anthem | "March of the United Front" |
| National Stanera | 377 / 503
|
| National Auditorium | 22 / 28
|
| Party flag | |
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| Website | |
| www.rnp.rk | |
The Republican Nationalist Party (Cape Coscivian: Parduv Restarka Nationalista) is the founding and ruling political party of the Federacy of the Cape. The RNP currently holds 377 out of 503 (or 74.9%) seats in the National Stanera and has been the dominant-party of the republic since its re-establishment in 1951.
The RNP was founded as the Political Office of the National Revolutionary Army in 1886 during the Capetian War of Independence. Under Melvyn Kalma, the party was declared a political organization in 1891 and became the founding party of the Federacy of the Cape. It led a period of single-party rule until 1924, when it narrowly won its first free elections against the Communist Party. Following the invasion of the Cape by the Kingdom of Palastra in the Great War, the RNP was incorporated into the political wing of the resisting National Reclamation Government. Since the re-establishment of the republic and the party's refounding in 1951, it has won a ruling majority in every single parliamentary election - even post-democratization. It competes today against the opposition Humanists - Social Democrats and the Constitutional Democrats. Political scientists often classify the RNP as a "party of power" and as a "state party" - as, from even its name, ideology, and symbolism, the party has always been intrinsically linked to the very concept of the Capetian republic.
The RNP is the only Capetian party that practices intra-party democracy, with over 40% of Cape citizens voting in its quadrennial open primary elections, choosing candidates for both the Prime Executure and local representatives to the National Stanera. However, the Republican National Congress remains the highest body of the RNP. It is elected by the party's official members, chooses the first secretary, and approves candidates to compete for the Prime Executure.
The party's guiding ideology is Restarkism, described as welfarist, reformist, civic nationalist, and secularist. A primarily social liberal party, a majority of RNP politicians have voiced support for the feminist movement, LGBT rights, and racial equality. Although the RNP has no international affiliation, it maintains connections with a wide variety of parties and groups; from the Kiravian right-wing Coscivian National Congress to the parties of the Pelaxian left.