Among the parties that already belong to the charter are the DA, IFP, ActionSA, Freedom Front Plus, United Independent Movement (UIM), Spectum Party and the Independent SA National Civic Organisation (Isanco).
In August, these parties joined hands in a bid to get the ANC to fall below 50% in the 2024 elections and in turn force the formation of multi-party coalitions to replace the ANC in both national and provincial governments.
On Saturday, the charter welcomed its newest member, the ACDP, after the party confirmed that it will be joining the charter as the eighth political coalition partner.
ACDP deputy president Wayne Thring said the party was initially opposed to joining or establishing coalitions prior to an election but it has reconsidered its position after it was approached.
"Post the establishment of the Multi-Party Charter, the ACDP was approached to join it. Our leadership sought clarity as to whether the Charter represented a coalition and what was the status of the Moon-Shot Pact," he said, referring to the DA’s former naming of the coalition grouping.
"It was confirmed that the pact was obsolete and that the Charter was not a coalition, but rather a gathering of parties concerned about the wrong trajectory SA is taking under the current governing party," Thring said.
On Saturday, the Charter in joint statement welcomed the ACDP.
“This announcement is well-received and takes place within the context of conversations with other political partes as an alternative to the ANC in the forthcoming 2024 elections...
“The Multiparty Charter for South Africa expresses its appreciation to ACDP president Kenneth Meshoe for the decision taken by the ACDP and calls upon other parties to align themselves with the growing multi-party alternative in South Africa,” the parties said jointly.
Thring said the ACDP leadership had spent time deliberating on the matter before accepting the challenge to be part of a bigger voice for change in the upcoming elections.
"Furthermore, it was confirmed that what the Charter sought to do was to draft rules, systems, and mechanisms for the efficient running of a coalition post 2024," Thring added.
"The leadership of the ACDP, the NEC, discussed this matter at length and in the end decided that the ACDP should join the Multi-Party Charter."