South Africa unveils new guidelines for coalitions amid rising political turmoil

Amidst the potential for a fragmented political landscape following South Africa’s upcoming elections, the government is devising a comprehensive framework to govern the formation and functioning of coalition governments. The aim is to foster stability in municipalities and prevent disruption in national and provincial administrations in case no single party secures an outright majority. This initiative, led by Deputy President Paul Mashatile, seeks to enhance accountability, public service delivery, and governmental efficacy while mitigating challenges seen in previous coalition scenarios. By stipulating minimum vote thresholds for party representation in administrations and limiting no-confidence motions, the framework aims to streamline coalitions and minimise leadership turnover. The ruling African National Congress (ANC) faces waning support due to concerns over power outages, inadequate public services, and widespread socioeconomic disparities. The opposition Democratic Alliance is rallying smaller parties to diminish the ANC’s dominance, while manoeuvring around certain ideological differences.

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South Africa Draws Up New Rules to Avert Election Coalition Chaos

By S’thembile Cele

South Africa is writing a framework that will guide how coalition governments should be constituted and operate, a move that should help stabilize fractious municipalities and ensure national and provincial administrations aren’t derailed by infighting should no party win outright control in next year’s elections.

New rules need to be agreed to ensure the state works in the public’s best interests, officials are more accountable and the delivery of services don’t grind to a halt if alliances unravel, Deputy President Paul Mashatile told a meeting in Cape Town on Friday that was convened to discuss the new blueprint.

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“Our pursuit of national consensus on how to approach coalition governments is a matter of national interest,” he said. “Properly handled, it has the potential to bring the necessary stability, especially to the local government sphere, despite the intemperance we have witnessed in relation to coalitions.”

A number of the country’s biggest towns have been ruled by coalitions since 2016 municipal elections, and have seen multiple changes in leadership as parties fell out and regrouped. One such instance is Johannesburg, the economic hub, where power has changed hands six times since 2021 and the mayor comes from a party that won less than 1% of the vote.

Opinion polls show the governing African National Congress could lost outright control of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal next year — it won less than half the vote in those provinces in the 2019 municipal elections — and even its national majority, raising the risk of even more chaos.

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The framework is likely to say that parties will need to win a minimum threshold of votes to be represented in administrations, which would limit the size of coalitions and make them easier to manage. Limits on the number of no-confidence motions that may be proposed against officials are also likely to be introduced to reduce the turnover of officials.

Support for the ANC has dropped amid anger over nationwide blackouts, shoddy government services and widespread poverty and unemployment.

While the Democratic Alliance, the main opposition party, has struggled to capitalize on the discontent, a number of smaller parties have seen an up-tick in support. They include the Freedom Front Plus which represents mostly right-wing Afrikaans voters, the Inkatha Freedom Party, which draws most of its support from Zulu speakers, and the Patriotic Alliance that mainly appeals to voters of mixed race.

The business-friendly DA is trying to put together an alliance of opposition parties to drive the ANC’s share of the vote below 50%, but is refusing to work with the Economic Freedom Fighters, the third-biggest group that favours the nationalisation of land and mines.