Cape Town — South Africa’s biggest opposition parties have come together and announced that they will be holding a national convention in an effort to unseat the ANC ahead of the 2024 general elections.
The DA, IFP, Freedom Front Plus, Action SA, United Independent Party, the National Freedom Party and the Spectrum National Party issued a joint statement on Monday and said they were getting ready for an “unprecedented opportunity for the people of South Africa to elect a new government”.
‘’As the leaders of seven different political organisations, this is a responsibility we take seriously. We know that many citizens are anxious about the future. We know that they want certainty that the new national government that replaces ANC dominance next year will be stable, viable, and effective,’’ the parties said.
NATIONAL CONVENTION
Through good faith and thorough engagement, opposition party leaders have established sufficient common ground for a historic National Convention to take place on 16 and 17 August 2023, to form a Pact that can win the 2024 election.
The Convention will be… pic.twitter.com/NOE0ZpLSlk
— Multi-Party Coalition Advocacy Group (@MultiCoalition) July 3, 2023
They noted that for the first time since 1994, the ANC is set to lose the majority of its votes when elections start next year.
The seven leaders added that they will provide a viable path to achieve a 50+1% majority to form a government without the ANC or EFF.
“‘’It is with this great responsibility in mind that the leaders of our seven organisations have held a series of exploratory meetings over the past two months. The aim of these meetings has been to lay the foundation for a National Convention, where the leaders of opposition parties can come together to negotiate a pre-election Pact,’’
We are proud to report today that, through good faith and thorough engagement, opposition party leaders have established sufficient common ground for a National Convention to take place on 16 and 17 August 2023, in Gauteng. 🇿🇦
Read more: ⬇ https://t.co/GRcj7lFI5U
— Democratic Alliance (@Our_DA) July 3, 2023
DA leader John Steenhuisen announced a Moonshot Pact in April but opposition parties said at the time that they were not consulted beforehand.
Steenhuisen on Monday said: “What we are going to do is focus on the things that unite us rather than the things that divide us. I’m absolutely convinced that all the parties who attend the pact will find the 10 to 15 things that we all agree on need to be done to fix South Africa.”
Meanwhile, ActionSA’s national chairperson, Michael Beaumont, said the convention is not about being anti-ANC.
“It’s about being strong for an alternative vision for South Africa and it’s about putting down jointly agreed solutions to the greatest challenges facing South Africans today.”
[1/10] A pleasure to speak to @eNCA‘s Tumelo Mothotoane about @Action4SA and the multi-party convention taking place on 16 and 17 August to build a coherent multi-party alternative future for South Africa. Take a look: pic.twitter.com/WoXwBUnaGQ
— Michael Beaumont (@ME_Beaumont) July 3, 2023
“It is with this great responsibility in mind that the leaders of our seven organisations have held a series of exploratory meetings over the past two months. The aim of these meetings has been to lay the foundation for a National Convention, where the leaders of opposition parties can come together to negotiate a pre-election Pact,” the statement added.
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Picture: Twitter/@MultiCoalition
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
