Professor William Gumede, a well-respected academic, is to chair the Multi-Party National Convention, which is being held by several opposition parties.
The National Convention is due to be held later this month at Emperor’s Palace in Ekurhuleni. The aim of the Convention is for a number of political parties to determine a way forward and how to co-operate ahead of next year’s national and provincial elections.
The DA, IFP, ActionSA, NFP, United Independent Movement, and Spectrum National Party will attend, while the ACDP and Mmusi Maimane’s BOSA are due to attend as observers.
In a joint statement, the multi-party grouping announced that Gumede would chair the two-day conference, saying: ‘this grouping of parties has understood the need for these talks to benefit from the wisdom and experience that is available in South Africa and too often ignored by political leaders who falsely believe they have a monopoly on solutions needed in South Africa.
‘In considering Professor Gumede’s significant contributions to South Africa and various democracies around the world, it is evident that there is no South African who is better placed to guide our multi-party process.’
Gumede is an associate professor at the University of the Witwatersrand and also chairs the Democracy Works Foundation, as well as having worked with a number of prestigious universities abroad. The joint party statement said he had been a member of several student, civics, and trade union movements prior to the end of apartheid, and had been seconded to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The group of political parties also said that Gumede had already begun working with the parties ahead of the convention, chairing several meetings of the parties to help establish a multi-party agreement.