Gauteng’s coalition headache: ANC divided over who to work with after Wednesday’s vote | News24

Gauteng’s metros have had a revolving door of mayors since 2021 – and a group of ANC insiders wants that to stop by partnering with the DA.

• Gauteng’s metros have had a revolving door of mayors since 2021 – and a group of ANC insiders wants that to stop by partnering with the DA.
• Three anonymous NEC sources say informal lobbying for an ANC-DA deal is already under way, despite Panyaza Lesufi’s public hostility towards the DA and concerns that local structures could resist such a move.
• South Africans vote on Wednesday, and mayors must be chosen within 14 days of the results being certified.

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A group of ANC leaders believes it would make sense to form coalitions with the DA in Gauteng’s three metropolitan councils after the election. The concern, however, is that the ANC’s local leadership structures could rebel against such a move.

Most credible polls show that neither the ANC nor the DA will win a majority in any of Gauteng’s three metros, with both parties likely to secure between 30% and 40% of the vote.

That raises the prospect that, should the ANC and DA refuse to work together, deals with a host of smaller parties would be needed to form governments.

According to three ANC sources who serve on the party’s national executive committee (NEC), a group of ANC leaders have grown tired of agreements with smaller parties and believe a deal with the DA would bring greater stability to the metro councils. The NEC is the ANC’s highest decision-making body.

The three sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to discuss coalition negotiations with the media. It is understood that informal support is already being canvassed among NEC members to persuade the body, after the election, to enter into an agreement with the DA.

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Johannesburg’s mayoral chain has changed hands five times since 2021, with the Al Jama-ah party having occupied the position twice – despite winning just 0.8% of the vote in the 2021 local government elections. Tshwane has had four mayors since 2021, and Ekurhuleni three.

It is not yet clear how this pro-DA faction envisions the coalition arrangements, but local structures could baulk at it.

Gauteng ANC leader Panyaza Lesufi has launched several attacks on the DA in the past week. Aside from a spat with DA Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille over the installation of transformers in Soweto, Lesufi also described the DA on social media as the “masters of chaos” in coalitions.

Lesufi also accused Dr Jack Bloom, the DA’s deputy minister of water and sanitation, of abusing his ministerial position to advance party interests.

This came after Bloom addressed residents about Gauteng’s ongoing water crisis at a DA voter outreach campaign, alongside the party’s three Gauteng mayoral candidates.

Lesufi and the Gauteng ANC were also not open to a coalition with the DA in 2024. While the ANC formed coalition governments with the DA at national level and in KwaZulu-Natal, Lesufi’s Gauteng ANC offered the DA only three of the 11 MEC posts during coalition negotiations.

The Gauteng ANC sought seven of those posts for itself, despite winning only 34.8% of the provincial vote. Meanwhile, the EFF also joined the Gauteng provincial government as a coalition partner. However, the DA refuses to work with the EFF.

Lesufi and the ANC’s local structures in Gauteng also forged coalition deals with the EFF in Gauteng’s three metros to shut the DA out.

Rapport’s ANC sources say there is concern that local structures are seeking to undermine the party’s national leadership.

The ANC’s national leadership had named Reverend Frank Chikane, chairperson of the party’s integrity commission, as one of three mayoral finalists in Johannesburg — yet his name was reportedly left off the proportional candidate list “by mistake”. The other two finalists, incumbent mayor Dada Morero and deputy mayor Loyiso Masuku, both made the candidate list.

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Last week ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula felt it necessary to say at a press conference that the party’s top-seven leaders would ultimately decide who the final mayoral candidates would be. This came after rumours began circulating that Masuku was the preferred candidate.

Rapport understands that the top seven, with input from the party’s other national leaders and final approval from the NEC, will attempt to manage the party’s coalition negotiations.

No outreach between ANC and DA members has taken place yet. The DA has also said it would not reach out to other parties before the election results are final.

According to Rapport’s DA sources, the DA’s position remains that it will not form a government with the ANC where it is not compelled to do so — but that it would be willing to listen to the ANC provided several strict conditions are met. This includes concessions on investigations into alleged corruption.

South Africans go to the polls on Wednesday, and mayors must be elected within 14 days of the certification of the election results.