DA leader John Steenhuisen urged voters on Tuesday not to vote for parties that pretended to be in opposition but they were actually fronts for the ANC.
Steenhuisen also called on voters to turn their backs on any so-called opposition party that was not part of the “moonshot pact”.
“Any political leader who refuses to put the needs of South Africa ahead of the narrow interests of their party, does not deserve your vote,” he said.
Steenhuisen made the call while giving an update on the formation of a coalition to unseat the ANC in the 2024 elections.
“Parties mired in corruption, like the Patriotic Alliance, and others like Al Jamah and Good that have also sold out to the ANC, do not deserve your vote.
“If a party is not part of the Pact, they are on the side of the ANC and the EFF,” he said.
Six parties - the DA, IFP, Freedom Front Plus, ActionSA, United Independent Movement and the Spectrum National Party – will hold a national convention for the “moonshot pact” on August 16 and 17 at the same venue that hosted the Convention for a Democratic South Africa negotiations.
Steenhuisen said “the moonshot pact” offered the opposition the very best chance to unseat the ANC, keep the EFF out of power and form a stable new government to rescue South Africa.
“This moonshot pact would bring together different parties – excluding the ANC, EFF and their proxies – to ensure that the opposition focuses our collective energies on defeating the ANC, rather than on attacking each other.”
He also said the DA believed the planned convention would be the most important political conversation since the country’s transition to democracy.
“By showing that South Africa can be rescued if we have the courage to stand together, the pact can energise the 14 million voters who are not registered to do so.
“It will also give the 13 million people who are registered but failed to vote in 2021, a new reason to vote.”
Steenhuisen said the six parties that will attend the national convention collectively achieved about 35% of the vote in 2021 with the DA obtaining 21%.
Steenhuisen said the DA’s majority in the Western Cape would add significantly to the pact’s national total.
He painted a picture of the “moonshot pact” being on the verge of voting out the ANC in some provinces.
This included Gauteng, where they collectively are already polling at 48%.
“The overall picture makes it clear that the Pact has absolutely everything to play for, both at provincial and national level.”
Cape Times