Multi-Party Charter
The Multi-Party Charter for South Africa (MPCSA), commonly known as the Multi-Party Charter, is a pre-electoral alliance of eleven opposition parties formed in February 2023 to contest the 2024 South African general elections with the explicit goal of securing a parliamentary majority and ousting the African National Congress (ANC) from executive power after 30 years of uninterrupted rule.[1][2] The coalition, initially referred to as the Moonshot Pact, included core members such as the Democratic Alliance (DA), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus), African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), and ActionSA, united by a founding agreement emphasizing adherence to the Constitution, federalist devolution of powers to provinces, non-racial merit-based policies, and free-market reforms to address economic stagnation, corruption, and failing public services.[3][4][5] The Charter's platform positioned it as a pragmatic alternative to both ANC governance and the rise of populist parties like the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and uMkhonto weSizwe (MK), advocating for privatizing state-owned enterprises, curbing cadre deployment, and prioritizing skilled immigration to revive infrastructure and reduce unemployment exceeding 30%.[6][7] In the 29 May 2024 elections, MPC-aligned parties collectively garnered approximately 28.8% of the national vote—led by the DA's 21.8%—contributing to the ANC's historic drop below 50% (to 40.2%), but falling short of the 50%+1 threshold needed for an anti-ANC government.[8][9] Post-election, the alliance fractured as the DA and IFP opted to join a Government of National Unity (GNU) under President Cyril Ramaphosa, incorporating the ANC alongside smaller parties, a move decried by purists within the MPC as compromising the Charter's core objective of ANC exclusion and enabling continued influence of policies like expropriation without compensation.[10][11] This outcome marked a pivotal shift toward coalition politics, highlighting the MPC's role in eroding ANC hegemony while exposing ideological tensions among opposition forces over power-sharing versus principled opposition.[12][8]History
Formation and Early Development
The Multi-Party Charter (MPC) for South Africa was formally established on August 17, 2023, when seven opposition parties signed a pre-electoral agreement aimed at uniting to secure a national majority in the 2024 general elections and displace the African National Congress (ANC) from power after 30 years of governance.[13] The founding document outlined shared principles including constitutionalism, non-racialism, federalism, market-oriented economic policies, and commitments to combat corruption, stabilize public finances, and promote private sector-led growth, positioning the alliance as a pathway to rescue the country from perceived ANC-induced decline in service delivery, unemployment, and state capture.[14][1] Initial signatories included the Democratic Alliance (DA), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Freedom Front Plus (FF+), ActionSA, and three smaller parties: the United Independent Movement (UIM), the South African Progressive Civic Organisation (SAPCO), and the Spectrum National Party (SNP).[13] The Charter's formation emerged from months of negotiations among non-ANC parties, driven by polling data indicating the ANC's vulnerability to falling below 50% support and the need for a coordinated opposition to avoid fragmented votes benefiting the ruling party.[15] It stipulated that the party securing the most seats post-election would lead the executive, with power-sharing mechanisms for cabinet positions and provincial governments based on proportional representation, while rejecting coalitions with the ANC or Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) to maintain ideological coherence around liberal economic reforms and institutional integrity.[16][14] In its early phase, the MPC expanded rapidly to broaden its electoral base, adding the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) via a formal signing ceremony on October 19, 2023, which emphasized shared values on family policy, ethical governance, and economic liberalization.[17][18] By late 2023, the alliance had grown to 11 parties, incorporating groups like the Independent South African National Civic Organisation (ISANCO), reflecting efforts to consolidate anti-ANC sentiment across ideological spectrums from classical liberalism to civic nationalism, though tensions arose over policy nuances such as land reform and federal devolution.[19][20] This development phase focused on joint campaigning, voter mobilization, and contingency planning for post-election scenarios, including legal safeguards against electoral irregularities.[2]Internal Disputes and Negotiations
The formation of the Multi-Party Charter required protracted negotiations among opposition parties to forge a pre-electoral pact committed to ousting the African National Congress (ANC) from national government. Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen initially proposed the "Moonshot Pact" in early 2023 as a bold alliance of non-ANC, non-Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) parties to achieve a governing majority, emphasizing constitutionalism, market-friendly policies, and institutional reform.[3] However, the name "Moonshot Pact" became a flashpoint, with several prospective members resisting it due to its origins as a DA-coined term, which they perceived as branding the alliance too closely with the DA's identity and leadership.[21] To resolve this impasse, independent facilitator Professor William Gumede chaired discussions that culminated in the renaming to the Multi-Party Charter for South Africa on 16 August 2023, when seven parties—including the DA, Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus), ActionSA, African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), United Independent Movement (UIM), and Spectrum National Party (SNP)—signed a foundational agreement.[21][22] The pact stipulated that signatories would contest the 2024 elections independently but pledged to negotiate a coalition government only among themselves if collectively holding a parliamentary majority, while outlining shared priorities like professionalizing the public service, ending electricity shortages (loadshedding), and upholding property rights.[23] Later accessions, such as the ACDP's formal signing on 19 October 2023, extended these negotiations to ensure alignment on exclusionary clauses barring ANC or EFF participation.[17] Policy negotiations revealed both convergence and friction, as parties bridged differences on economic liberalization and federal devolution while rejecting outliers; for instance, in February 2024, the Charter denied the Referendum Party's membership bid over incompatible stances on federalism and constitutional amendments.[24] DA leader Steenhuisen publicly excluded the Patriotic Alliance in August 2023, citing its opportunistic alliances in local councils like Nelson Mandela Bay as evidence of unreliability.[25] Tensions escalated in early 2024, particularly between the DA and ActionSA, over local governance and strategic signaling. A public spat in eThekwini Municipality highlighted coordination failures, irking private funders who had backed the Charter's formation.[26] The DA's May 2024 election advertisement showing a burning national flag drew internal condemnation for alienating voters, with ActionSA deputy leader Michael Beaumont decrying it as undermining the pact's unity.[27] Beaumont further warned that any Charter member open to post-election deals with the ANC should withdraw, reflecting ActionSA's purist opposition stance against the DA's perceived pragmatism; prior frictions included DA threats of legal action against ActionSA in 2022 over bribery claims in Tshwane.[27] These rifts, though not derailing the pre-electoral framework, exposed vulnerabilities in sustaining cohesion among ideologically varied partners amid electoral pressures.Role in the 2024 Elections
The Multi-Party Charter (MPC) functioned as a pre-electoral alliance of South African opposition parties aimed at preventing the African National Congress (ANC) from retaining an outright parliamentary majority in the national and provincial elections held on 29 May 2024.[1][28] The pact, formalized through a founding agreement signed by core members including the Democratic Alliance (DA), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Freedom Front Plus (FF+), and ActionSA in late 2023, emphasized coordinated campaigning on shared principles such as limited government, property rights, and economic liberalization to present a unified alternative to ANC governance.[1][6] This strategy sought to consolidate anti-ANC votes, which had historically fragmented among smaller parties, targeting a combined national vote share exceeding 50% to enable the MPC to form a post-election government without ANC participation.[29][30] During the campaign, MPC parties maintained separate candidate lists and manifestos while aligning on joint public events and policy critiques, such as opposition to expropriation without compensation and advocacy for federalist devolution of powers.[3][31] The alliance highlighted empirical failures of ANC rule, including persistent load-shedding, unemployment rates above 32%, and GDP growth averaging under 1% annually in the preceding decade, positioning itself as a bulwark against continued state capture and corruption.[28][8] However, the emergence of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, led by former president Jacob Zuma, disrupted this consolidation by drawing significant support from disaffected ANC voters in key provinces like KwaZulu-Natal, where IFP's regional strongholds faced direct competition.[29][32] In the election outcomes certified by the Independent Electoral Commission on 2 June 2024, the MPC's core parties collectively secured approximately 28.82% of the national vote, with the DA obtaining 21.81% (87 seats in the 400-member National Assembly), IFP 3.84% (17 seats), FF+ 0.89% (6 seats), and ActionSA around 1% (6 seats).[8][9] This fell short of the pact's threshold for outright control, as the ANC retained 40.18% (159 seats) but lost its majority for the first time since 1994, compelling multi-party negotiations.[28][9] Provincially, the MPC achieved a majority in KwaZulu-Natal through DA-IFP cooperation, displacing the ANC there, but struggled elsewhere due to vote splitting.[10][8] Post-election, the MPC's influence manifested partially through the DA and IFP's entry into the ANC-led Government of National Unity (GNU) announced on 14 June 2024, which incorporated several MPC policy demands like infrastructure investment and fiscal restraint, though this diluted the pact's original anti-ANC stance and prompted withdrawals by parties like ActionSA citing ideological incompatibility.[33][10] The alliance's role thus contributed causally to eroding ANC dominance by demonstrating viable opposition coordination, yet its limited vote aggregation underscored challenges from ethnic and populist vote fragmentation, as evidenced by MK's 14.58% surge.[32][8] Overall, the MPC accelerated South Africa's transition to coalition-era politics without achieving its maximal goal of an exclusionary non-ANC government.[28][6]Ideology and Principles
Core Ideological Foundations
The Multi-Party Charter's ideological foundations rest on a shared commitment to constitutional democracy, as articulated in its founding agreement signed on August 17, 2023, by parties including the Democratic Alliance (DA), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Freedom Front Plus (FF+), and ActionSA. This entails strict adherence to the South African Constitution of 1996, upholding the rule of law, and ensuring equality before the law for all citizens, irrespective of race, ethnicity, or background.[14][1] The charter positions these principles as a bulwark against the perceived failures of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), which the signatories attribute to centralized power, corruption, and economic stagnation since 1994.[14] Economically, the charter advocates for an open market economy driven by evidence-based policies to foster inclusive growth, job creation, and poverty alleviation, rejecting state-centric interventions that it claims have led to South Africa's GDP per capita decline from $6,700 in 2011 to $5,800 in 2022 (in constant dollars).[1] This orientation aligns with classical liberal tenets of private enterprise, property rights, and reduced regulatory burdens, while committing to social safety nets targeted at the vulnerable to address historical inequalities without undermining incentives for productivity.[14] Governance reforms emphasize decentralization of authority to provincial and local levels—echoing federalist ideas prominent in parties like the IFP—to enhance efficiency and responsiveness, contrasting with the unitary state model under the ANC.[1] At its core, the charter promotes non-racialism and unity in diversity as mechanisms to redress apartheid's legacies through merit-based opportunities rather than race-based quotas, which signatories argue perpetuate division and inefficiency.[14] Anti-corruption measures, including zero tolerance and independent oversight bodies, are foundational, with the agreement mandating swift implementation of frameworks to dismantle state capture networks exposed by inquiries like the Zondo Commission (2018–2022), which documented over R500 billion in illicit financial flows.[1] Security and law enforcement priorities underscore a causal link between weak institutions and rising crime rates, which reached 27,494 murders in the 2022/2023 financial year, advocating professional policing and judicial independence.[14] These foundations reflect a pragmatic synthesis rather than uniform ideology, uniting parties with distinct emphases—such as the DA's market liberalism, the IFP's regional autonomy, and ActionSA's populist accountability—under a vision of "a just, inclusive and prosperous South Africa based on opportunity, freedom and security for all."[1] The charter's preamble invokes a "patriotic duty" to chart a new path, prioritizing empirical outcomes like ending load-shedding (which cost 1,000–2,000 GWh daily in 2023) and rebuilding infrastructure over ideological purity.[14] This approach critiques ANC governance as causally linked to systemic failures, favoring decentralized, accountable structures to restore public trust eroded by events like the 2021 July riots, which caused R50 billion in damages.[1]Policy Priorities and Commitments
The Multi-Party Charter's founding agreement, signed on December 14, 2023, by parties including the Democratic Alliance, Inkatha Freedom Party, and Freedom Front Plus, articulated commitments to foster economic growth, restore governance integrity, and deliver essential services, emphasizing evidence-based policies over ideological prescriptions.[1] These priorities targeted the African National Congress's perceived failures in areas such as load-shedding, corruption, and unemployment, with signatories pledging to prioritize job creation through an inclusive economy that enables individual potential and family empowerment.[1] Specific economic pledges included enhancing fiscal management efficiency and transparency to ensure value for money in infrastructure spending, alongside measures to stimulate private sector-led growth.[34] In energy security, the Charter committed to ending electricity load-shedding by accelerating generation capacity and liberalizing the market to private providers, aiming to achieve technical and financial sustainability in the national grid.[1] For law and order, parties vowed a zero-tolerance approach to crime, corruption, and drugs, including professionalizing the South African Police Service, bolstering the National Prosecuting Authority, and establishing specialized courts and units for corruption, gender-based violence, gangs, and narcotics, with increased budgetary allocations to support these reforms.[1][35][36] Education reforms focused on overhauling the system to prioritize foundational skills like reading and numeracy, while depoliticizing administration to ensure quality outcomes for all learners.[1] Healthcare commitments emphasized universal access to quality services through improved worker ratios and efficient management, upholding constitutional rights without endorsing expansive state monopolies.[1] Infrastructure pledges entailed a national plan to renew aging systems and extend basic services like water and sanitation, addressing decades of neglect.[1][37] Public service overhaul promised a merit-based, professional bureaucracy, explicitly ending cadre deployment practices that favored political loyalty over competence, to better serve vulnerable populations.[1] Social relief measures combined immediate aid for poverty and hunger with long-term strategies to promote self-reliance and prosperity.[1] Overarching governance principles included strict adherence to the Constitution, rule of law, transparency, decentralization of powers, and non-racial redress policies grounded in capability rather than race quotas, rejecting corruption as incompatible with effective administration.[1] These commitments formed the basis for joint manifestos, such as the January 2024 economic plan and March 2024 law-and-order framework, presented as a unified alternative to incumbent policies.[38][35]Member Parties
Core Member Parties
The core member parties of the Multi-Party Charter (MPC) consist of the seven political organizations that signed the founding agreement on August 17, 2023, committing to collaborate in the 2024 national and provincial elections to pursue policy reforms aimed at economic growth, constitutional protections, and opposition to ANC dominance.[39][1] These parties represent a spectrum of centre-right, liberal, and conservative ideologies, with a shared emphasis on federalism, private sector-led development, and anti-corruption measures as outlined in the charter's principles.[1]| Party | Leader (at signing) | Key Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Alliance (DA) | Hon. John Steenhuisen | South Africa's primary opposition party, advocating market-oriented policies and federal devolution; secured 21.81% of the national vote in 2019.[1] |
| Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) | Hon. Velenkosini Hlabisa | Zulu-nationalist party focused on traditional leadership, federalism, and rural development; holds strong support in KwaZulu-Natal with 3.38% nationally in 2019.[1] |
| Freedom Front Plus (FF+) | Dr. Pieter Groenewald | Afrikaner-interest group emphasizing minority rights, self-determination, and conservative values; gained 2.38% in 2019 amid white voter consolidation.[1] |
| ActionSA | Mr. Herman Mashaba | Anti-corruption, populist party founded in 2020 by former Johannesburg mayor; emphasizes urban governance reform and rapid voter growth in Gauteng metros.[1] |
| United Independent Movement (UIM) | Mr. Neil de Beer | Centrist party prioritizing independent candidacies and service delivery; smaller entity with roots in municipal activism.[1] |
| Spectrum National Party (SNP) | Mr. Christopher Claassen | Niche party focused on national unity and spectrum of interests; limited electoral footprint but aligned on charter's anti-ANC stance.[1] |
| Independent South African National Civic Organisation (ISANCO) | Dr. Zukile Luyenge | Civic-oriented group advocating non-racial nationalism and community empowerment; represents smaller civil society-aligned interests.[1] |
Supporting and Affiliate Parties
The Freedom Front Plus (FF+), a conservative party emphasizing Afrikaner interests, federalism, and minority rights protection, signed the Multi-Party Charter's founding agreement in August 2023, contributing electoral support in Afrikaans-speaking communities.[1][39] Its involvement aimed to bolster the charter's appeal in rural and conservative provinces like the Northern Cape and Free State, where it secured 0.83% of the national vote in 2019. ActionSA, led by Herman Mashaba and focused on urban governance reform and anti-corruption measures, also endorsed the founding document, providing organizational strength in Gauteng metros through its rapid growth since 2021.[1][22] The party committed to non-compete pacts in key wards but maintained independent campaigning, garnering about 0.01% in early polls but projecting higher turnout via charter alignment. Smaller affiliates included the United Independent Movement (UIM), under Neil de Beer, which prioritizes practical service delivery and joined as a signatory to amplify local-level opposition voices.[1] The Spectrum National Party, headed by Christopher Claassen, advocated for inclusive nationalism and similarly affiliated to expand the charter's demographic reach beyond traditional bases.[1] The Independent South African National Civic Organisation (ISANCO), led by Zukile Luyenge, focused on civic engagement and signed on to support transitional governance frameworks.[1] Other supporting entities, such as the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), Congress of the People (Cope), Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC), and United Democratic Movement (UDM), expressed affiliation through policy endorsements and negotiation participation, though some joined post-initial signing in late 2023.[40][31] These parties, with historical roots in Christian values, post-apartheid liberalism, pan-Africanism, and multi-ethnic federalism respectively, added niche voter blocs but held limited parliamentary seats, collectively under 2% in prior elections. Their role emphasized ideological complementarity to the core members' economic liberalization focus, despite internal debates over leader selection mechanisms.[41]Parties That Withdrew or Declined
ActionSA formally withdrew from the Multi-Party Charter on June 6, 2024, shortly after the announcement of the national election results on May 31, 2024.[42] The party, led by Herman Mashaba, cited a "serious breach" of the charter's core agreement by other members, particularly the Democratic Alliance's public willingness to engage in coalition talks with the African National Congress (ANC), which violated the pact's explicit commitment to exclude the ANC from any post-election government formation.[43][44] ActionSA positioned the exit as a defense of its principled opposition stance, refusing participation in the emerging Government of National Unity and opting instead to serve as an independent voice holding the coalition accountable.[45] Prior to the elections, several smaller opposition parties expressed skepticism toward joining the Multi-Party Charter, primarily due to concerns over the premature nature of its pre-election coalition commitments. For instance, the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), under leader Kenneth Meshoe, initially viewed the agreement as rushed, preferring post-election negotiations to assess voter mandates more accurately.[46] The ACDP ultimately joined in October 2023 after further deliberation, but its early reservations highlighted broader fragmentation among opposition groups wary of binding pacts that could limit flexibility.[47] Other minor parties, amid the opposition's overall disorganization, similarly declined formal membership, contributing to the charter's inability to consolidate a unified front beyond its core signatories like the DA, IFP, and Freedom Front Plus.[48]Electoral Performance
National Election Results
In the national general election held on 29 May 2024, the Multi-Party Charter (MPC) parties contested separately without a unified ballot list, focusing instead on coordinated post-election cooperation to challenge the African National Congress (ANC).[3] The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) certified the results on 2 June 2024, with a voter turnout of 58.64% from approximately 27.8 million registered voters.[49] Collectively, the core MPC parties secured about 28.3% of the valid national votes (roughly 4.76 million), translating to 116 seats in the 400-member National Assembly—insufficient to form a government independently or surpass the ANC's 40.18% (159 seats), though positioning them as the second-largest bloc.[49] This outcome fell short of the MPC's pre-election "moonshot" ambition to achieve a combined majority, undermined by the surprise rise of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK), which drew votes from traditional opposition bases.[11] The Democratic Alliance (DA), the MPC's anchor party, performed strongest among affiliates, retaining its status as the official opposition with gains in urban and Western Cape strongholds.[50] Smaller MPC members experienced mixed results, with some retaining parliamentary representation amid fragmentation in the opposition vote. The following table summarizes the national ballot performance of key MPC parties:| Party | Vote Share (%) | Votes Received | Seats Won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Alliance (DA) | 21.81 | 3,709,394 | 87 |
| Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) | 3.84 | 616,266 | 17 |
| Freedom Front Plus (VF+) | 1.18 | 189,051 | 6 |
| African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) | 0.89 | 142,597 | 4 |
| GOOD | 0.61 | 98,596 | 2 |