2024 elections: No ANC-MK party coalition, says Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla

Former president Jacob Zuma’s daughter, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla has ruled out the possibility of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party working with the African National Congress (ANC) in a coalition government.

There has been debate about a possible coalition government as early election results have indicated that support for the ANC could dip below 50%.

This could force the ruling party to form a coalition at the national level for the first time in 30 years of governance.

However, questions have been raised on whether political parties would be able to agree on policies.

MK party to work with ‘progressive black parties’

The MK party was hoping for a two-thirds majority in this year’s general election, but the target seems unlikely.

“We were anticipating a two-thirds majority but wherever we land, we will be happy,” Zuma-Sambudla, who is the MK party’s Parliament candidate, told the media at the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) national results centre.

On coalitions, Zuma-Sambudla said her father had indicated that he was open to working with “progressive black parties” that aligned with the MK party on policy.

“As long as you want land back, nationalisation, we are on the same page.”

However, this did not include the ANC.

“For as long as they are still [led] by [President Cyril] Ramaphosa, they are not with us,” Zuma-Sambudla said.

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While she also ruled out working with the Democratic Alliance (DA), the MK party member said there was a “possibility” of going into a coalition with Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).

She confirmed that the MK party has held talks with parties such as the African Transformation Movement (ATM), United Democratic Movement (UDM) and Ace Magashule’s African Congress for Transformation (ACT) and there was an agreement reached “in-principle”.

“We have had discussions with them from last year already, so we go back to the table and see how we work.”

Zuma-Sambudla also indicated that her father would visit the IEC’s results centre.

Ramaphosa is Gone pic.twitter.com/xeagBxH7x5

— Battalion 54 (@54Battalion) May 30, 2024

Election results

The IEC is currently capturing, auditing and quality-assuring the 2024 national and provincial election results.

As of 1pm on Friday, 14 542 of 23 293 voting district results have been declared, representing 62.43%.

So far, the ANC had 41.89% of votes. It secured 57.5% in the last national election in 2019.

The DA is in second place at 22.95%, while the MK party stands at 11.76% and is eating into the ANC’s support, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), Zuma’s home province.

The MK party has also overtaken the EFF, currently the third biggest party in Parliament, which was sitting on 9.49%.

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