Coalition talks: Maturity of political parties put to the test

With big and small political parties having been quite stubborn in their respective positions in coalition talks, voters have thrown them into a political quandary, a political analyst said on Monday.

Except for the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), parties have locked themselves into the idea of using coalitions to keep the ANC from power, even though voters have not given them that mandate.

Hung municipalities

Last weekend, Gauteng MEC for human settlements, urban planning and cooperative governance and traditional affairs Lebogang Maile said the local government elections had produced 10 hung councils out of the 11 in Gauteng.

He said: “This means none of the political parties that contested the elections managed to secure an outright majority.

“This state of affairs is a true test of the maturity and health of our young democracy.

“[It] has necessitated dialogue and deliberations between […] parties seeking to find a way to come up with coalition arrangements that will enable them to govern.

“Coalition arrangements require a certain element of political maturity, as the art of cooperation and compromise becomes critical to bring about the types of agreements that will help advance the interests of their core constituencies, as well as society at large.

“Councillors have been duly declared elected [and] metropolitan and local councils must meet by [Tuesday] to elect office-bearers.”

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Coalition talks

District councils must meet within 14 days of the local council members being appointed.

University of Johannesburg politics professor Siphamandla Zondi said a push by smaller parties to keep the ANC out of power was “proving difficult, especially after the [Inkatha Freedom Party] decided to work with the ANC where the ANC leads by votes”.

“[The ANC] must be allowed to lead a coalition government. This idea is to respect the will of the larger number of voters.”

“The Democratic Alliance (DA) and ActionSA seem to have locked themselves into a dilemma having “resolved to go full-on opposition by putting forward candidates unlikely to win the vote.”

ActionSA, he said, was “stuck now with this idealistic position […] which cannot work anymore”.

EFF is still horse-trading

The EFF smart move to vote for DA members for leadership positions in the Ekurhuleni metro could present a dilemma for the DA’s top leadership, which is adamant they do not want anything to do with the EFF.

The EFF’s anger with the ANC over their failed coalition talks benefitted the DA in Ekurhuleni.

In a surprise move, the City of Ekurhuleni elected the DA’s Raymond Dlamini as speaker. With the EFF’s vote, Dlamini had 116 of the 220 votes, beating ANC nominee Dora Mlambo’s 104.

While the result of the mayorship election was still awaited last night, the EFF might support the DA and its candidate, Refiloe Nt’sekhe, against incumbent Mzwandile Masina.

This could not be confirmed. If the EFF votes with the DA in Joburg, it will have taken revenge on the ANC which rejected its 10 “non-negotiable cardinal pillars” demands for the formation of a coalition between them.

EFF’s coalition demands

It demanded, among others, the amendment of the constitution to enable land expropriation without compensation, nationalisation of the SA Reserve Bank, removal of Die Stem from the national anthem and the establishment of a state bank.

Whether the EFF strategy would be an incentive for the DA to change its mind on refusing to back ActionSA’s Herman Mashaba as Johannesburg mayor remained to be seen.

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The EFF wanted Mashaba as mayor, even if it was not part of the envisaged coalition. Earlier the DA was sticking to its original position not to support Mashaba because it feared he could be manipulated by the EFF, as happened during his previous tenure as Joburg mayor.

Should the DA ignore the EFF gesture in Ekurhuleni and still refused Mashaba, that could spoil things for the party in Tshwane, where it needed ActionSA to win.

A ‘strong opposition’

Mashaba told The Citizen prior to the nomination processes for both speaker and mayor: “Our decision on Tshwane will be determined by the outcome of today’s proceedings.”

Even if the DA supported a minority government under Mashaba in Joburg, it would still need the ANC or EFF to pass budgets and other critical mandatory council decisions.

“Throughout the election campaign, the DA has been steadfast in its position that we would rather be a strong opposition than part of a shaky coalition,” it said.

The contest was expected to be between Mashaba, the ANC’s Mpho Moerane and the DA’s Dr Mpho Phalatse.

During the inaugural City of Joburg council meeting yesterday, the nominations of the speaker and mayor were delayed due to the process involving verbal nominations, then printing of ballot papers, voting, counting of votes and announcement of the results.

Additional reporting by Eric Naki.