THE battle lines for the 2024 general election are being drawn.
And several opposition parties are planning to work together to unseat the ANC and keep the EFF at bay.
Party leaders from the Democratic Alliance (DA), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Freedom Front Plus, ActionSA, The National Freedom Party, The United Independent Movement, and The Spectrum National Party have announced that on 16 and 17 August they will hold what they call a “historic convention” to form a pact that they believe can win the 2024 election.
The event is expected to be held at the same venue as the 1990-1994 Convention for a Democratic South Africa (Codesa) peace talks in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni.
According to the parties, items on the agenda will include the values and principles guiding a “pact government”, formulation of a joint minimum programme of action, rules of engagement during the upcoming election campaign, and a formula to form a Cabinet after the 2024 election.
Speaking on behalf of the seven parties, Michael Beaumont from the ActionSA said the 2024 election presents an unprecedented opportunity for the people of South Africa to elect a new government.
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“We know that many citizens are anxious about the future. We know that they want certainty that the new national government that replaces ANC domination next year will be stable, viable and effective,” he said.
According to Beaumont, the people of South Africa want opposition parties to provide a viable path to achieving the 50%+1 majority they need to form a government without the ANC, the EFF and their proxies.
With this in mind, the leaders of the 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.”
He said party leaders have agreed on an agenda that will guide negotiations at the convention to ensure that they emerge with the strongest possible agreement.
“We wish to emphasise that every party leader who has engaged in this process so far has done so voluntarily, and it is for each party to ultimately decide whether it wants to formally join the pact once negotiations have been concluded at the upcoming National Convention,” said Beaumont.
The African Christian Democratic Party and Build One South Africa have attended various of the meetings as observers and are yet to decide if they will attend the National Convention.
