The Freedom Front Plus (FF+) has confirmed that it was in coalition negotiations with the DA over the hung municipalities in the Western Cape.
The province has a total of 16 hung municipalities, which would require parties to enter into a coalition government.
Speaking to Independent Media, FF+ leader Pieter Groenewald said they were already in talks with the DA after it approached them.
“I have met with the leader of the DA. We are in the process of discussion,” Groenewald said. “We are looking at an agreement where we can say these are essential matters we will have to attend to and how we are to resolve conflict.”
Groenewald said they were presently in negotiations with the DA only.
“We agree that we must ensure coalitions must be stable and it is in the best interest of the electorate, so that it must be an example to the electorate to ensure that we can prove coalitions do work,” he said.
DA spokesperson Siviwe Gwarube confirmed her party reached out to the FF+ and other parties about the possibilities of forming coalition governments.
“The negotiations are at various stages and we will communicate as soon as agreements have been reached. As we have stated, we are willing to speak to various parties who will ensure that we prioritise service delivery and corruption-free governments where we work with them,” Gwarube said.
The turn of events is ironic as the FF+ is widely believed to have taken votes away from the DA.
During the campaign, the DA has been urging voters not to waste their vote by voting for the small parties. This sparked fury from some small parties with the FF+ suggesting that a vote for the DA was a vote for the ANC.
This was after DA leader John Steenhuisen was quoted as saying his party was prepared to enter into coalition with all the parties, except the EFF and ANC in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro.
Groenewald laughed when was asked about the turn of events.
“That’s politics,” he said. “In politics personal feelings and personal interest are not above the overall interests of the electorate. The interest of the electorate is most important,” he said. “Yes, elections have taken place and we now have to see what is in the best interests of the electorate.”
The FF+ is one of the potential alliance partners such as the Patriotic Alliance, Good party, Independent Congress of South Africa, EFF and ACDP, the ANC and DA may want to court.
Groenewald insisted that his party would not enter into any coalition with the ANC and EFF.
“We are open to all other parties. We will look at their manifesto to check if we share the same values. If it is in the interests of the electorate, we will consider a coalition.”
Neither the ANC Western Cape spokesperson, Sifiso Mtsweni, nor the provincial head of elections could be reached for comment.
Following its special meeting this week, the ANC mandated a team led by the provincial convenor Lerumo Kalako to engage with other parties based on the approach the national leadership will adopt at its special national working committee this weekend.
“The ANC will work tirelessly and consider coalitions with a clear focus on improving service delivery to the citizens of the Western Cape who have emphatically made their voices heard through the votes,” said the ANC in a statement.
Good party secretary general Brett Herron could not be reached for comment at the time of publication, but this week he said they were going to consider their position in the hung municipalities.
Herron said: “The Good party will be considering its position in respect of various hung councils in the Western Cape to determine whether it will better serve voters by forming coalitions or providing constructive opposition.”
Political Bureau