Twelve members of the Rhodesia House of Assembly joined the party when it was launched in May 1977, including Ted Sutton-Pryce, Reg Cowper, Ian Sandeman and former Rhodesian Front chairman Des Frost.
[5] Accusing the RF of being "completely bankrupt of all ideas", the RAP endorsed "any constructive move towards a settlement of Rhodesia's constitutional problem", in which "people of different cultures can coexist in mutual respect and safety".
[11] It campaigned for a "no" vote in the 1979 constitutional referendum, but was rebuked by South African Foreign Minister Pik Botha when it claimed that Pretoria would continue to support Rhodesia were voters to reject the power-sharing settlement.
[12] The president of the party, Ina Bursey, told supporters: "In using God's name I am not being irreverent, because if you vote Yes you will inevitably be landed with a Marxist government".
[13] Bursey denounced the "yes" vote in the referendum, declaring: "The Rhodesian people have sold their souls to the devil and deserve to reap the fruits of the whirlwind.