South African parties negotiate control of municipalities
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Scrolla.Africa
South African parties are now negotiating governing agreements and the allocation of leadership posts in municipal councils following the local government elections. The African National Congress remains the largest party nationally with 30.89% of the vote, but several major municipalities require coalitions, according to Scrolla.Africa.
South African parties have begun negotiations to form municipal executives following the local government elections, after the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) announced the results on Sunday 8 November. The ANC remains the largest party nationally with 30.89% of the vote, ahead of the Democratic Alliance (DA) on 24.60%, MK on 9.61%, the EFF on 6.25% and ActionSA on 5.68%, according to Scrolla.Africa.
National standings do not, however, determine who runs municipal councils. The DA has an outright majority in Cape Town and finished first in Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and Nelson Mandela Bay, without an outright majority in those four municipalities. MK finished first in eThekwini without an outright majority, while the ANC remains the largest party in Buffalo City and Mangaung, also without an outright majority.
Councils without a majority must therefore negotiate the election of mayors, council speakers and other political office-bearers. A council without a majority can combine the votes of several parties to elect its leaders and adopt decisions, meaning the party that finishes first does not automatically get the mayoralty. These negotiations concern the 120 councils where coalitions are required, according to results reported by Scrolla.Africa.
The next formal step is the first meeting of each council. The Municipal Structures Act provides that the municipal manager must convene this meeting within 14 days of the declaration of the council election. Councillors then elect the council speaker and executive office-bearers, including the mayor or executive mayor depending on the applicable system. Party negotiations do not suspend these statutory deadlines.
The announcement of the results comes after the local government election results announced on 8 November, when the ANC had obtained 30.76% according to the previous published tally. In eThekwini, MK has been negotiating a coalition with the ANC since 8 November in an attempt to prevent the DA from taking control of the municipality.
