The Multi-Party Charter (MPC) is determined to clock changes should their plan to unseat the ANC from the levers of power succeed.
This comes after Freedom Front Plus (FF+) leader Pieter Groenewald recently endorsed IFP leader Velenkosi Hlabisa for the presidency of the MPC ahead of the elections.
According to SABC News, Groenewald has endorsed Hlabisa ahead of DA leader John Steenhuisen and ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba.
The charter is part of a coalition of opposition parties such as the DA, IFP, ActionSA, African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), and others, whose mission is to prevent an ANC/EFF coalition in a bid to reduce the ANC to less than 51% in next week’s elections.
The SABC reports that Groenewald confirmed the DA has accepted that its leader, John Steenhuisen, will not be president of the charter.
“If we look at the members of the Multi-Party Charter at the moment, I still stand by my choice of Hlabisa. I said that as far as John Steenhuisen is concerned, we will not put him forward as the president as you have mentioned because the DA will be the majority party in that coalition, and the DA accepted that Mr. John Steenhuisen accepted that he would not be the president, and they said that they wanted to be the leader of government business in parliament.”
Meanwhile, Groenewald says his party hopes to increase its number of seats in the Limpopo legislature.
In March, during their last joint statement, the eleven parties who want to prevent an ANC/EFF coalition at the election, unveiled a charter to address government’s plan to deal with one of South Africa's most devastating crises—crime and corruption.
According to Hlabisa, this would be done by focusing on four priorities: professionalising the police service, improving the criminal justice system, addressing the nation’s drug problem and tackling corruption and state capture.
“A charter government will make it a priority to hold all criminals to account and prevent future crime by addressing its root causes. Through a focused, evidence-based strategy, we will build a safer future for all South Africans. We will be tough on crime and even tougher on the causes of crime to protect people, property, and infrastructure while deterring anti-social behaviour and the abuse of power,” the charter said.
The Star