SA opposition parties seal pact to control capital municipality

Six South African opposition parties agreed to form a coalition government in the Tshwane municipality, which includes the capital Pretoria, shutting out the African National Congress.

The municipality was among 70 where no party secured an outright majority in November 1 municipal elections. Under the power-sharing deal between the main opposition Democratic Alliance and small rivals Action SA, the Freedom Front Plus, the African Christian Democratic Party, the United Democratic Movement and the Congress of the People, the DA’s candidate Randall Williams will be the mayor — a post he held prior to the vote.

“The parties agreed that in the interests of the future of South Africa, it is important to form stable governments which are serious about service delivery and arresting the decay of local government,” they said in an emailed statement on Friday.

They will also seek to form a minority government in Johannesburg, the economic hub, that excludes the ANC. While the DA’s leadership wants the opposition party that won the most votes in a municipality to choose the mayor, the other parties agreed to back ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba in Johannesburg  — a post he held from August 2016 to November 2019 when he was a DA member.

The ANC, which rules nationally, won 33.6% of the vote in Johannesburg, the DA 26.1% and ActionSA 16.1%.

On Thursday, the ANC said it had reached a deal with the Inkatha Freedom Party in the eastern KwaZulu-Natal province, whereby municipalities will be governed by the party that secured the most votes. The accord will give the ANC control over eThekwini, which includes the port city of Durban, while the IFP will rule several smaller towns in the region.