Pictures: The Citizen/Michel Bega and @Our_DA/Twitter
The ANC-DA fallout in Tshwane is a serious issue for the government of national unity (GNU) that could have widespread implications for both parties and spill over into the national coalition, an expert says.
Political economy analyst Daniel Silke said the electoral outcome in which an ActionSA candidate, backed by the ANC, beat the DA’s ousted mayor, Cilliers Brink, by a huge margin could create tensions within the DA and this could spill over into the GNU.
“This is a rocky moment for the GNU – probably the first major crisis that the GNU is going to face, at least in terms of the DA participation,” he said.
Silke said this could create tension for both the ANC and the DA because the ANC factions are set on their own power and independence.
He added that it was also an indication that President Cyril Ramaphosa and party secretary-general Fikile Mbalula did not have the power to establish national and local positions for the broader GNU cooperation.
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“This will have an impact on Ramaphosa’s ANC as well,” the analyst said.
In a tense process supervised by the Electoral Commission of South Africa yesterday, ActionSA candidate Dr Nasiphi Moya was voted in as mayor with 122 votes to 86 for Brink, who ran against her.
ANC national spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri told the media her party preferred Moya “because of her experience and qualifications”.
The ANC’s refusal to back Brink despite a stability pact between it and the DA is bound to cause a rift between the two parties.
DA federal council chair Helen Zille has already threatened that a stability agreement between the party and the ANC was over if Brink was not reinstated.
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His return to the top seat depended on the support of the ANC which, instead, opted to cooperate with ActionSA to elevate Moya to the mayorship.
Not so long ago, the ANC and ActionSA did not see eye to eye on governance due to their ideological differences. ActionSA pursues market-friendly economic policies while the ANC espouses a mixed economic model slanted in favour of the poor.
But an irate Zille earlier said: “There won’t be a stability pact unless Brink is reinstated.”
Earlier, Zille said all other pacts signed with the ANC in other municipalities in terms of the GNU agreement would be halted.
But Mbalula was unfazed by Zille’s warning as he said that the ANC would vote for anyone but Brink and that Zille’s threat was “unacceptable”.
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A breakup between the two parties could affect the country’s political stability, depending on whether the DA pulls out of the national pact.
Zille earlier indicated her party would not pull out but political stability would be affected.
Silke said: “This shows that the ANC is not cohesive or in full agreement on how to handle the GNU cooperation with the DA.
“This is a victory certainly for Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi and those who wish to avoid being associated in any way with the DA.
“This undermines, therefore, the spirit of cooperation at GNU level and has an effect on the DA, as it will undermine confidence in John Steenhuisen as leader.”
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