South Africa’s DA launches municipal coalition talks
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Sunday Express
South Africa’s Democratic Alliance has authorised talks with parties that could form majorities in municipal councils without an outright majority. The discussions will be coordinated nationally pending final local election results, according to IOL.
The Democratic Alliance (DA), a South African opposition party, has authorised talks to form coalitions in municipalities where no party won an outright majority in the local elections. The decision was taken by its Federal Executive, according to a party statement reported on Sunday 8 November by South African media outlet IOL.
The DA plans to coordinate the discussions nationally. It intends to approach parties that share its commitments to fighting corruption, the rule of law, transparent public administration and improved municipal services. The party says it came first in many municipal councils without having a sufficient majority to govern alone.
The negotiations are to be based on the final election results. The Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) was due to announce the national results on Sunday at 18:00, after objections and recount requests had been processed. Provisional seat allocations are not sufficient to determine the majorities needed to elect municipal officials and adopt council decisions.
The DA has announced no potential partner or coalition agreement. Its discussions come amid negotiations between several parties, notably the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), led by Julius Malema, which has ruled out an alliance with the DA. The party will therefore have to secure the support of other elected representatives to participate in forming municipal executives.
The local election results put the ANC in first place with 31% of the vote nationally, according to election data reported on 7 November in our review of the ANC’s advance in 115 municipal councils. On the same day, Julius Malema ruled out the Democratic Alliance from municipal coalitions, while the MK Movement was negotiating with the ANC in eThekwini, according to information published on 8 November on the talks between MK and the ANC.
