Multi-Party Charter
LeaderTBD
ChairpersonWilliam Gumede[1]
Founders
Founded17 July 2023 (2023-07-17)
Ideology
Political positionBig tent[A]
National Assembly
112 / 400
^ A: The largest party in the coalition, the Democratic Alliance (DA), is a broadly centrist, liberal party, while most of the smaller parties, such as the IFP, FF Plus, ACDP, and ActionSA, lean right ideologically (see table below).

The Multi-Party Charter, officially the Multi-Party Charter For South Africa, is a pre-election agreement in South Africa that aims to challenge both the three-decade rule of the African National Congress (ANC) party, and the recent rise of the controversial Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party in the 2024 general election, and present a united front.[1][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]

Parties in the charter collectively hold 112 of the 400 seats in the National Assembly.

History

In early 2023, the African National Congress (ANC) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) formed a coalition in Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni where the two parties hold MMC (member of the municipal council) positions whilst electing a mayor from a minority party.[12] In April 2023, noting the prospects of an ANC/EFF national coalition, the Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen called for "like-minded" parties to join together to prevent a "doomsday coalition".[13]

On 17 July 2023, the pre-election agreement called the Multi-Party Charter was signed between the Democratic Alliance (DA), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus), ActionSA, Independent South African National Civic Organisation (ISANCO), United Independent Movement (UIM), and Spectrum National Party (SNP). The charter group held 108 out of the 400 seat National Assembly.

On 7 October 2023, the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) announced it would be joining the charter increasing the charter's seat count from 108 to 112 in the 400 seat National Assembly.[14][15]

On 14 December 2023, the Multi-Party Charter announced that two new parties joined the group: the North West-based United Christian Democratic Party and the Gauteng-based Ekhethu People’s Party.[16]

Composition

The table below lists the parties in the charter. The charter currently holds a total of 112 seats in the 400 seat National Assembly.

Name Main ideology Political position Leader Seats
DA Democratic Alliance
Demokratiese Alliansie		 Liberalism (South African) Centre John Steenhuisen
84 / 400
IFP Inkatha Freedom Party
IQembu leNkatha yeNkululeko		 Conservatism Right-wing Velenkosini Hlabisa
14 / 400
FF Plus Freedom Front Plus
Vryheidsfront Plus		 Afrikaners and Afrikaans-speaking Coloureds interests Right-wing Pieter Groenewald
10 / 400
ACDP African Christian Democratic Party Christian right Centre-right to right-wing Kenneth Meshoe
4 / 400
ActionSA ActionSA[lower-alpha 1] Classical liberalism Centre-right Herman Mashaba
0 / 400
UCDP United Christian Democratic Party Christian democracy Centre-right Modiri Desmond Sehume
0 / 400
UIM United Independent Movement Christian democracy Centre-right Neil de Beer
0 / 400
EPP Ekhethu People's Party Centre Mahlubi John Madela
0 / 400
SNP Spectrum National Party Christopher Claassen
0 / 400
ISANCO Independent South African National Civic Organisation Zukile Luyenge
0 / 400
  1. ↑ ActionSA has several seats in select Metropolitan Municipalities.

Priorities and principles

At the joint press statement by the six founding parties the coalition government's priorities were laid out as:[2][3][4]

  • Growing the economy
  • Creating jobs
  • Energy security
  • Combatting crime
  • Combatting corruption and drugs
  • Quality education for all
  • High quality infrastructure
  • Quality healthcare for all
  • Relieving South African households living in poverty

The coalition's agreed-upon principles, called "Shared Governing Principles", are:[2][3][4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Multi-Party National Convention makes solid progress towards a pre-election agreement". Democratic Alliance. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Multi-Party National Convention makes solid progress towards a pre-election agreement" (PDF). press-admin.voteda.org. 16 August 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Multi-Party National Convention makes solid progress towards a pre-election agreement". Democratic Alliance. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Johannes (18 August 2023). "A Multi-party Charter for South Africa". ActionSA. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  5. ↑ Madia, Tshidi. "Analyst doubts Multi-Party Charter for SA can secure more than 50% of vote". ewn.co.za. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  6. ↑ "WRAP | 'We will retain our individual identities within the Charter' - opposition parties". News24. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  7. ↑ Madia, Tshidi. "Multi-Party Charter for SA formally enters pre-elections coalition agreement". ewn.co.za. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  8. ↑ Masuabi, Queenin (17 August 2023). "Multi-Party Charter for South Africa agrees on key power-sharing principles". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  9. ↑ "Multi-Party Charter ready for takeoff, but Codesa III it is not". The Mail & Guardian. 17 August 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  10. ↑ "Multiparty Charter agrees to form coalition ahead of 2024 polls". Jacaranda FM. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  11. ↑ "Multi-Party Charter is about politicians putting citizens first: Mashaba". SABC News. 17 August 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2023.
  12. ↑ "ANC and EFF partnership 'negotiating in good faith' to govern Gauteng metros". 702. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  13. ↑ "DA to fight ANC-EFF 'doomsday coalition'". BusinessLIVE. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  14. ↑ "Multi-Party Charter For South Africa Welcomes Announcement by ACDP and Promises More". X (formerly Twitter). Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  15. ↑ Jeffrey, Lauren (7 October 2023). "Multi-Party Charter For South Africa Welcomes Announcement by ACDP and Promises More". ActionSA. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
  16. ↑ "Two more parties join Multi-Party Charter". BusinessLIVE. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
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