Opposition Parties To Hold "Moonshot Pact" Convention On Aug 16-17

Leaders of seven opposition parties involved in the so-called "moonshot pact" aimed at defeating the African National Congress (ANC) in next year's elections confirmed that they will hold a national convention on August 16 and 17 to negotiate the details of a comprehensive election agreement.

• The parties forming the moonshot pact are the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), as well as the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), the Freedom Front Plus (FFF+), ActionSA, the National Freedom Party (NFP), the United Independent Movement (UIM) and the Spectrum National Party (SNP).
• The Mail & Guardian reports that the NFP has been allowed to join the pact after its constituent parties lifted the initial requirement that participants should not cooperate with the ANC in provincial governments. The NFP cooperates with the ANC and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in several KwaZulu-Natal municipalities.
• While support for the ANC has declined into 2023 on the back of multiple crises haunting South Africa, especially the prolonged power outages, the moonshot pact will be fighting an uphill battle to cross the 50% threshold. They are set to compete not only against the ANC, but also the radical left-wing EFF, which is currently the third-largest force in the National Assembly.