The DA says it has drafted coalition frameworks and is considering a "government of local unity" model for councils where no party won an outright majority. DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis said the party wants arrangements built on well over 50% support.
About 126 of the 195 councils declared so far have no outright majority, according to weekend reports, compared with about 70 after the 2021 elections. A different count puts the ANC in the lead in 125 of 213 municipalities, so the totals should be confirmed against the IEC's final declaration.
What the DA is proposing
The DA has begun sending coalition invitations to parties across the country, according to a party source who was not named. The source said: "The conversation cannot be only about one municipality or one province." That remark has not been confirmed on the record.
What other parties are saying
ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont said on Sunday: "We don't think local government is ideological. It's about electricity, water, roads, sewage and refuse." ActionSA would negotiate with any party that agrees on service delivery and stable government, he said.
It has also been reported, without confirmation from either party, that the DA has floated a Gauteng arrangement under which ActionSA would keep Tshwane, back DA control of Ekurhuleni and share Johannesburg. ActionSA and the DA have not confirmed this. ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba and DA figure Helen Zille are both mentioned as possible Johannesburg mayoral candidates.
The MK Party has said it will talk to almost any party except the DA, while the EFF has called on the ANC to reconsider a DA coalition.
The clock
Under the Municipal Structures Act, councils must hold their first meetings within 14 days of the results being declared, to elect speakers, mayors and other office-bearers.
What we do not yet know
- Whether the Gauteng proposal exists in the form reported.
- The exact declaration date from which the 14-day period runs.
- How the DA's "government of local unity" would work in practice.
