Formation
The party was formed in 1969 by Albert Hertzog (son of former Prime Minister General JBM Hertzog) in protest against the decision by Prime Minister BJ Vorster to authorize the presence of Maori players and spectators during the tour of New Zealand rugby union team in South Africa in 1970, as well as his re-establishment of diplomatic relations with Malawi and that country's appointment of a Black ambassador to South Africa. The name was chosen to reflect the initials of the earlier Herenigde Nasionale Party (Reunited National Party), the name used by the National Party in the fateful election of 1948. Seeking a return to Calvinism as the basis of South Africa, the party advocated complete racial segregation and the adoption of Afrikaans as the only official language. The bulk of the membership of the new party was made up of rural and small town working and lower middle class Afrikaners who resented what they saw as the National Party devoting their attentions to the concerns of urban Afrikaner elites.
The party contested the general election of 1970 although its campaign was the subject of government crackdowns and its rallies targets for attack. The party's 78 candidates were all defeated, including its four MPs, all of whom had been National Party members before defecting to the new group. The party also contested 50 seats in the 1974 election but failed to make an impact in an election where reformists advanced. During this election the HNP boycotted the English language press, refusing to release any information to them, as the party opposed the use of the language in South Africa. It contested three by-elections in 1975 and 1976 and during these enjoyed a growth in its vote, taking second place ahead of the United Party in the two seats that that group contested. It captured 3.3% of the vote in 1977 before increasing this to 13.1% in 1981 but on no occasion did they win any seats.
Read more about this topic: Herstigte Nasionale Party
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