Developing story: coalition talks are continuing and party positions may change. This article will be updated.

A grouping of left-wing and other parties says it will not support ANC-led coalitions with the DA in hung municipalities, and wants the DA and FF Plus removed from the Government of National Unity (GNU).

The Conference of the Left, which includes the SACP, the EFF, the MK Party, the African Congress for Transformation and the PAC, among other organisations, set out its position at a media briefing in Boksburg on Thursday 12 November. The briefing was held at the venue where the ANC's National Executive Committee was meeting. Advocate Dali Mpofu of the MK Party delivered the joint statement.

What the parties said

The parties said they would not back ANC-led coalitions with the DA, and rejected claims that they would return to the ANC if President Cyril Ramaphosa resigned. Mpofu said the grouping is inviting the ANC to join its effort, not seeking to rejoin the party.

Asked on talk radio whether his party wanted Ramaphosa to resign, Mpofu replied: "What does that have to do with the local government?"

On the election results, Mpofu said: "Those votes come from our people, they did not come from the air." He said the grouping's organisations together won just over 20% of the popular vote in the 2026 local elections. That figure is Mpofu's claim and has not been checked against IEC results here.

The call on the GNU

Mpofu called on those within the national coalition "to demand the removal of right-wing reactionary forces from the so-called GNU". He named the DA and FF Plus as the "reaction in South Africa". The parties say the GNU's economic policies have made the cost of living unaffordable. The SACP and other left-wing groups have long criticised the ANC's decision to join the GNU with the DA and FF Plus.

The conference invited "all progressive forces, including the ANC, to join this call".

Why it matters now

The ANC's national vote share fell to 30.76% in the 4 November local elections, and several municipalities, including all three Gauteng metros, have no outright winner. Councils must hold their inaugural sittings and elect office-bearers by 26 November, so parties have a short window to agree on multi-party arrangements. ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bengu said at the NEC meeting that Ramaphosa "is going nowhere".

What we do not yet know

  • How many council seats the grouping holds in each hung municipality, and whether its parties would vote together.
  • How the ANC and the DA will respond to the statement.
  • Whether the 20% figure holds against the IEC's final results.