Opposition parties to hold national convention to unseat ANC in 2024

Opposition parties have announced that they will be holding a national convention in a bid to unseat the ruling party ahead of the 2024 national elections.

In a statement, the DA, IFP, Freedom Front Plus, Action SA, National Freedom Party, United Independent Movement and Spectrum National Party said they were getting ready for the “unprecedented opportunity for the people of South Africa to elect a new government”.

“For the very first time since 1994, the incumbent governing party is set to lose its majority when voters go to the polls next year. 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,” they said.

The group said the credible prospect of a change in government next year is cause for optimism. “It also places a profound responsibility on the shoulders of opposition parties that want to take South Africa into a fundamentally better direction. As the leaders of seven different political organisations, this is a responsibility we take seriously.”

The seven parties said South Africans wanted opposition parties to provide a viable path to achieving the 50% + 1 majority needed to form a government without the ANC, the EFF and their “proxies”.

The grouping revealed that they had been engaged in meetings over the past two months, exploring and laying a 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, party leaders have established sufficient common ground for this national convention to take place on August 16 and 17.”

The parties announced that the convention would be held in Kempton Park, particularly and deliberately chosen for its symbolic significance, being the same venue where the Codesa negotiations that laid the foundation for South Africa’s transition to democracy took place. “It is fitting that we use this venue to host another historic first, where opposition party leaders will get together around one table to work out a common vision for a new government.”

The parties said their leaders had agreed on an agenda that will guide negotiations at the convention to ensure they emerge with the strongest possible agreement. They said important items on the agenda include:

• the values and principles that will guide a pact government;
• formulation of a joint minimum programme of action;
• rules of engagement during the election campaign; and
• a formula to form a cabinet after the 2024 election

Citing that these items are critical to forming a stable pact government that can deliver, the grouping emphasised that every party leader engaged in this process 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 convention.

“There are no predetermined outcomes, and negotiations at the convention will be robust, honest and constructive. The African Christian Democratic Party and Build One South Africa have attended various of our meetings as observers and are yet to decide if they will attend our national convention.”

The parties said while they acknowledge that there is a lot of work to be done, South Africans can take great heart from the knowledge that, for the first time ever, opposition leaders are working in unison to provide hope and a new way forward for the country.”

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