Multi Party National Convention independent chairperson Professor William Gumede announced that the political parties currently holding talks on a potential coalition government ahead of the 2024 elections have decided to rename the Moonshot Pact the ‘Multi Party Charter for South Africa’.

Gumede provided an update on the closed session talks currently underway, where he added that the negotiations among the parties were robust and going very well.

The term Moonshot Pact was coined by the Democratic Alliance.

“The big issue is the name – Moon[shot] Pact was the bone of contention. Many of the parties wanted a name because a name is key and is the identity and without an agreement on the name, the name was a big obstacle to agree on,” Gumede said.

He also highlighted that political parties agreed on a joint vision in working together. He did not elaborate on the agreed upon vision.

“I think it is a very big victory for the parties,” he said.

Noting that there were many other political parties not part of the pact, Gumede said that with the new agreement, it would be easier for the multi-party group to engage with those parties out of the Pact.

“So now that this pact has a vision, it will be easier to have conversations with some of the parties. The vision they managed to agree on together gives them the space to begin engagements with other parties outside the pact,” Gumede explained.

He said discussions were still ongoing and that political parties were making progress.

As an independent chairperson of the process, Gumede is not affiliated to any of the participating parties.

He said the convention was an historic event, one of the few processes in the world, where a negotiated agreement came before the elections.

He said the most important measure of the quality of democracy was the quality of the opposition.

Gumede noted that the pact received an outpouring of support from civil society, individuals and business organisations.

“I myself personally received over hundred messages of support, not only support but ideas,” he said.