This Day in History: September 1, 2004
The Independent Democrats (ID), a political party which was formed by Patricia de Lille, who had defected from the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), benefited from the floor-crossing rule that allows members of parties at all three levels of government to join a party of their choice without losing their Parliamentary seat. The ID welcomed eighteen municipal councillors, mainly from New National Party (NNP), on the first day of the floor-crossing period. Other parties that benefited from the rule included the Freedom Front, which received ten councillors while Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Tony Leon announced reception of 26 councillors. In Cape Town unicity the African National Congress (ANC) registered a major gain with the NNP being the main casualty after 23 of its 32 councillors crossed to the ANC.