By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
ActionSA announced its withdrawal from the multi-party charter (MPC) signed with the Democratic Alliance (DA) and other parties last year, with the sole purpose of pushing the African National Congress (ANC) out of power and creating a viable alternative for South Africans.
This has proven to be a very arduous task, with the DA being the only party which has performed considerably well.Other MPC members have struggled.
The parties signed the agreement in August 2023 at the Johannesburg Convention Centre.
The Multi Party Charter (MPC), which was initially called the “Moonshot Pact”, is the brainchild of the DA, which brought other political parties together, determined to get 50% +1 collectively.
The MPC pre-election agreement was signed by leaders of the DA, IFP, FF Plus, ActionSA, ACDP, UIM, Spectrum National Party, Independent South African National Civic Organisation, the Ekhethu People’s Party and the United Christian Democratic Party.
ActionSA says a coalition negotiation with the ANC is against the agreement of the Multi-Party Charter.
In a media briefing on Thursday, National Chairperson of ActionSA Michael Beaumont said ActionSA was leaving the Multi-Party Charter as some members throw their agreement out the window.
“The senate of ActionSA notes that the party entered the Multi-Party Charter on a good faith basis,” said Beaumont.
“The Multi-Party Charter agreement has been seriously breached by political parties. ActionSA remains steadfast in its public agreement to be an alternative to the ANC.”
This as some opposition parties are planning to go into a coalition with the ANC.
“From our point of view, we are strong of the opinion that we made our commitment to the Multi-Party Charter, not to other political parties. That was the commitment. We cannot remain part of the Multi-Party Charter that is failing to live up to that commitment, “said Beaumont.
ActionSA said it would not take the votes it won as a member of the Multi-Party Charter and give them to the same party it was working against.
The party managed to take 1.2% of the votes in the provincial and national elections last week.
ActionSA is one of the parties that was expected to perform well in the election. The party’s showing at the 2021 local polls was impressive; however, this did not translate on a national and provincial level.
Party president Herman Mashaba and Beaumont will not be taking up seats in the National Assembly (NA) stating they would be better served on the Provincial level to focus their attention on the 2026 Local Government Elections.