TheIndependent Party (Afrikaans:Onafhanklike Party) was founded in 1987 byDenis Worrall andWynand Malan. Its purpose was to protest against the National Party's shift in policy from reform to security. It contested the1987 election as the Independent Movement and Malan, its founder, won its only seat. Disappointed by this result, Malan left to form theNational Democratic Movement (NDM), and Worrall assumed the leadership.
Unlike most other legal non-racialist parties of the Apartheid era, the IP's membership was mainly composed of Afrikaners rather than English-speakers.[1] The IP absorbed many members of theNew Republic Party after its dissolution. In 1989, it merged with theProgressive Federal Party (and others including Malan's NDM) to form theDemocratic Party (DP), now known as theDemocratic Alliance (DA). The Afrikaner support melted away, and Worrall and Malan left the DP soon after its formation.