With service delivery improvement in local government highly emphasised, the Democratic Alliance (DA), Congress of the People (Cope), United Democratic Movement (UDM), African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), Vryheidsfront Plus (VF Plus) and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) have “entered into an agreement” after the 2016 municipal elections.
The DA said it would work with Cope, UDM, ACDP and the VF Plus while helping the IFP to become governing parties in KwaZulu-Natal municipalities.
Yesterday, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) announced that it will not form coalitions with any political party, including the DA. But EFF leader Julius Malema said the DA has the party’s “vote” in the metros.
“We will vote with them if they meet conditions that are between us,” he said.
The DA leader, Mmusi Maimane, along with leaders from Cope, UDM, ACDP and the VF Plus, announced he welcomed the EFF’s decision to vote for the party but confirmed that there is not a coalition between them.
“We have negotiated [with the EFF] in good faith… but it was quite clear that we would never agree on ideological issues,” Maimane said.
At the media briefing in Sandton, it appeared that the condition the EFF mentioned was the DA’s mayoral candidate in the City, Herman Mashaba.
But Maimane said the party was clear that “the people voted for Herman Mashaba and he stands as our mayoral candidate”.
In the City, the ANC won 121 seats; the DA, 104 seats; the EFF, 30 seats and the smaller parties, collectively, hold 15 seats.
With the support of Cope, UDM, ACDP, IFP and the VF Plus and the DA, a total of 113 seats on the City is part of a coalition. If the EFF supports the DA in the City, the support will grow to 143 seats.
Dr Liela Groenewald, senior lecturer at the University of Johannesburg’s (UJ’s) Department of Sociology, said a political party needs 50 percent plus one seat in council, that is 136 seats in the City, to be able to elect an executive mayor and a speaker.
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