As South Africans prepare to head to the polls on 4 November, coalition governments are expected to remain a key issue in determining the stability of municipalities across the country. In simple terms, a coalition happens when no single political party wins more than half of the seats in a legislature or municipal council.

Two or more parties or independent representatives then have to work together to form a government and support important decisions.

Coalition government is not only about which parties work together. It is also about whether the municipality can function properly and deliver services.

At the municipal level, this can involve electing a mayor, agreeing on budgets and determining service delivery priorities. However, disagreements between coalition partners can delay decisions and shift attention away from essential municipal responsibilities, including water, sanitation, electricity and refuse removal.

“There are fundamentally opposing ideological systems at work, and when we argue for coalitions, we expect these groupings to work together despite having different worldviews and ideological points of departure,” said North-West University political analyst Prof. André Duvenhage.

“When you enter coalition politics, your main aim should be to cooperate in achieving specific goals as a government. It is not a power play where you want to position yourself to focus only on your party’s priorities.

“We need legislation that can stabilise coalition politics to the extent that it is possible to make decisions. If there is a coalition, there should be a timeline for that coalition.”

University of the Free State governance analyst and research fellow Dr Harlan Cloete believes the country’s two largest political parties, the ANC and the DA, should demonstrate greater political maturity to strengthen coalition governance at municipal level.

“I anticipated in 2021 that cooperation between the two parties would be important in stabilising councils, particularly because voters were increasingly unlikely to give either party an outright majority.

“We will see an increase in coalitions, and we need political maturity from the two biggest losers to say, let’s put South Africa first. We need mature politicians to come to the party.”

OFM News/Zenande Mpame sm

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