Robert King, a candidate for the Referendum Party, has become the youngest party list leader in the country, just a few months before his 21st birthday.

While his parents are South African, King was born in the UK, and is currently earning a PPE degree through the Open University. Having lived in Riebeeck-Kasteel for the past 16 years, King’s family roots go back several generations in the town.

His dedication to the independence movement began years ago, and has been contributing to the Cape Independence Advocacy Group for several years, as well as founding the Cape Youth Front, a multi-party platform for young people to support secession.

As a representative of the movement with ties to the UK, King has managed to draw on his contacts to deliver a letter to UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at No. 10 Downing Street, drawing attention to the secessionist movement and the attacks on minority rights in South Africa.

The party has understandably attracted a great deal of controversy, and Robert King has been at the heart of it from the beginning, running street campaign and publicity stunts like the boom gate stunt at the Western Cape border last month, which attracted legal threats from the ruling party.

The Referendum Party’s main target this election is to secure 100,000 votes in the Western Cape to force the DA into a coalition in the province. They have signed a pact with the Western Cape branch of the Vryheidsfront Plus, who also support secession, to pool their votes to secure this coalition with the DA and force them to hold a referendum.

With an electoral reform Bill currently in Parliament which includes an article affording the Premier the right to hold a referendum (a move aimed to align legislation with the constitutional provisions for provincial referenda), the DA may well find itself in the awkward position of having to choose between a coalition with the ANC or granting a referendum on independence.

King is known for his restrained debating style, and the ability to deliver strident points in a measured and civil manner, and in his recent involvement with political campaigning, has found himself debating seasoned politicians twice his age.

With the Referendum Party gaining rapid ground in several wards across the Cape, King could in all likelihood become the youngest member of Parliament.

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