The Patriotic Alliance (PA) is willing to relinquish its working relationship with the African National Congress (ANC) at a local government level to prove its commitment to the moonshot pact if it is allowed to join.

After hearing that the moonshot pact partners from seven parties were open to the idea of having others join, PA leader Gayton McKenzie told News24 on Thursday that the PA was willing to engage.

But it will only do so if its demands are met.

"To show commitment, we are willing to immediately end our relationship with ANC for those who still doubt the ANC, and we can form new coalitions," McKenzie said.

On the first day of the convention on Wednesday, which is officially known as the Multiparty Charter for South Africa, it was decided that broadening the coalition would be vital to attain a majority in the 2024 elections. 

The seven parties - the DA, ActionSA, IFP, FF-Plus, Isanco, UIM and Spectrum National Party - continued their talks on Thursday.

They came together to sign a declaration that will map out a path to electoral victory if ANC support declines at the polls. 

The PA was excluded from talks, causing much debate leading up to the convention. 

It is considered untrustworthy, especially by the DA, after it resigned from a coalition arrangement with the DA and other parties that governed in Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni and decided to work with the ANC, allowing the party to regain power in key metros after the municipal elections. 

McKenzie told News24 that the PA could easily walk away from working with the ANC, but the moonshot pact partners would all have to make a commitment not to work with the ANC. 

"The PA will be open to joining the pact as soon as our demands are met. The ANC has ruled for three decades, and people still die of poverty; no bigger indictment exists. The fact that the ANC Youth League and the party's Veterans League have said that they don't want to work with PA makes this decision much less complicated. Our divorce shall be an uncontested one," the PA leader said.

To show that the PA was eager to abandon a working relationship with the ANC, alliances held in metros would also be abandoned, McKenzie said.

This would open up a tussle for power in the City of Johannesburg and possibly, in Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape, where the PA was crucial to the ANC's return to power.

But Rise Mzansi leader Songezo Zibi rebuffed the coalition pact's invitation again.

When DA leader John Steenhuisen announced the plan in April, Zibi had reservations. 

He told News24 that even with the latest invitation, Rise Mzansi believed it was too early to discuss coalitions because his party had a national manifesto launch in September that would inform its policy position.

"There is enough time to discuss coalitions for next year. Rise Mzansi has a manifesto convention at the end of September that will result in a clear political declaration. It would be unprincipled to foreshadow such an important part of Rise Mzansi's political process by making commitments without a mandate and a programme that would inform future discussions with other political organisations," he said.

This after News24 reported on Thursday that the seven parties were looking at extending another invitation to parties such as BOSA, Rise Mzansi and the ACDP.