ActionSA leaders Herman Mashaba and Michael Beaumont are not going to Parliament. (Deaan Vivier/Netwerk24)

• ActionSA president Herman Mashaba and national chairperson Michael Beaumont are not going to Parliament.
• The pair says they will instead focus on building the party, and also prepare for the 2026 local government elections.
• ActionSA is still sending six of its members to Parliament, and they will be led by Athol Trollip.

ActionSA bosses are not going to Parliament but will instead focus on building the party ahead of the 2026 local government elections.

Party president Herman Mashaba and national chairperson Michael Beaumont are not on the final list of the six party members who will be sworn in as members of Parliament (MPs) in the seventh administration.

Instead, the party’s Eastern Cape chairperson, Athol Trollip, will lead ActionSA’s caucus in the National Assembly (NA).

On Thursday, Chief Justice Raymond Zondo will officially receive the IEC lists of designated members of the NA and the provincial legislatures.

In a statement on Wednesday, the party said the pair will focus “exclusively on generating ActionSA’s growth in the 2026 elections”.

It read:

“ActionSA is not a party orientated around positions and perks of office. Our objective is to build a strong non-racial alternative to the ANC, which is the focus of the leadership in ActionSA. In the environment where the opposition is negotiating with the ANC, ActionSA leaders remain more committed to this objective than ever before,” reads the statement.

Ahead of the elections, ActionSA had endorsed Trollip as a premier candidate; however, the party did not garner enough votes in the Eastern Cape. Addressing the media at the National Results Centre last week, Mashaba and Beaumont said they were not happy with the party’s general election results and attributed this to the emergence of the MK Party.  

“But are we going to commit suicide? Absolutely not. We are sending a team of committed South Africans to the National Assembly and to the provinces where we have representation, and actually gear ourselves for the future,” said Mashaba.

ROLLING COVERAGE | SACP says no to ANC coalition with DA, MK Party

He added that the party would go back to the drawing board, prepare for the local government elections, and decide how to proceed in contesting elections in all municipalities.

In 2021, the party only contested in six municipalities.

Other members of ActionSA that will join Trollip in Parliament include Kgosietsile Letlape, Alan Beesley, Patricia Kobe, Solly Moeng, and Lerato Ngobeni.

Meanwhile, ActionSA will also hold a media briefing on Thursday to speak on the outcomes of its senate meeting, “the future of the multi-party charter”, and existing coalition agreements.