Johannesburg – On Wednesday, leaders of seven opposition political parties gathered for the first day of the two-day national convention in Kempton Park designed to pave the way for a pre-election multiparty coalition.
The parties hope that by the end of the convention, they will have found possible alignment to ensure the advancement of a united force to dislodge the ANC and prevent the EFF from ascending to power after next year’s general elections.
The parties are led by the DA, which proposed a moonshot pact early this year founded on the coming together of like-minded political parties.
After a series of weekly meetings ahead of the convention, only seven parties remain, and these are the DA, ActionSA, IFP, the Independent South African National Civic Organisation (Isanco), Freedom Front Plus, United Independent Movement (UIM), and Spectrum National Party (SNP), who have come together to map a way forward ahead of the elections.
William Gumede, who has been charged with overseeing the moonshot pact of the seven opposition political parties, has called the gathering of the parties a historical moment.
The DA’s John Steenhuisen led the first day of the convention.
In his opening address, Steenhuisen said the gathering was about opposition political parties putting their differences aside in a bid to find concrete solutions to improve the lives of South Africans as the country moved closer to the general elections.
“The next two days are not about politics or politicians. The next two days are about the people of South Africa. The outcome of these negotiations must be judged based on whether they provide concrete solutions to improve the lives of the South African people. For that to be the case, this cannot and must not be purely about the anti-ANC project. It must be a pro-South African project. Tomorrow evening, when this process is complete, judge the politicians sitting here on whether the outcome promises tangible improvements to your life,” Steenhuisen said on Wednesday.
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba said it was the first time that opposition political leaders put their differences aside and gathered to try find viable alternatives to a failed and uncaring government.
“The ANC, as all of us are aware, will lose its majority, but they have never seen opposition political parties put aside differences to actually give them hope. ActionSA commits itself to this national convention, and we have revealed how over 90% of South Africans want this project to succeed,” Mashaba said.
IFP representative to the convention, Elphas Buthelezi, said the convention was a step in the right direction as the country has suffered at the hands of one-party rule.
“This process is new and has never been done before. South Africans have shown that they want to see change in how they are being governed,” he said.
IFP leader Velenkosini Hlabisa was equally happy about the coming together of like-minded political parties, saying the meeting was not an anti-ANC club but about the interests of all South Africans.
The Star