South Africa local elections: ANC, DA and IFP shut out the MK in Msunduzi
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on IOL
The ANC-DA-IFP coalition holds 41 of the 81 seats on the Msunduzi municipal council, an absolute majority, and can shut out the MK, which won 31 seats in the 2026 local elections. The MK has entrusted its coalition negotiations to a seven-member team appointed by Jacob Zuma, according to IOL.
The ANC, the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) together hold 41 of the 81 seats on the Msunduzi municipal council, exactly an absolute majority, and can form a coalition that would shut the MK out of power, according to IOL. The MK, which came first in the 2026 local elections in this KwaZulu-Natal municipality with 31 seats, would need the support of other parties to govern.
The ANC and the DA each won 17 seats, the IFP seven. The independent councillors group takes three seats, with another going to an independent councillor. ActionSA, the Afrika Mayibuye Movement, the EFF, the Freedom Front Plus and the South African Communist Party (SACP) each hold one seat. For political analyst Siyabonga Ntombela, of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, quoted by IOL, the government of national unity (GNU) arrangement could influence the negotiations in Msunduzi, with the ANC, the DA and the IFP likely to reproduce their national partnership at municipal level.
The MK has for its part appointed a seven-member national team to lead coalition talks in the municipalities. It is headed by first deputy president Duduzane Zuma and includes second deputy president Tony Yengeni, national chairperson Mxolisi Phakathi, interim secretary-general Lindiwe Mtshali-Makhubu, KwaZulu-Natal provincial coordinator Willies Mchunu, lawyer Dali Mpofu and former treasurer-general Thanti Mthanti, according to an announcement by Dali Mpofu on Saturday at the Electoral Commission's results centre in Durban. The MK says it is ready to talk with the ANC, the IFP, ActionSA, the EFF, the African Transformation Movement and the SACP, but rules out the DA, which also refuses an arrangement with it.
