By Akani Nkuna
Geordin Hill-Lewis said on Friday that the DA was prepared to enter coalition negotiations with the ANC and would not necessarily insist on securing mayoral positions in every municipality where it emerged as the largest party.
The federal leader and Cape Town mayor said the DA was leading in six of South Africa’s eight metros as vote counting continued following Wednesday’s local government elections, placing the party in a strong position ahead of negotiations to form coalition governments.
Speaking to the media at the Results Operations Centre (ROC) in Midrand, Gauteng, Hill-Lewis said the DA had already held informal engagements with potential coalition partners to establish what it would take to form governments and whether there was sufficient political willingness to do so.
“We will approach these coming negotiations with an attitude of deep respect and humility and respect for, most importantly, the mandate those parties have received from their voters. Roughly two thirds of South Africa’s local municipalities will need coalitions. That is really a epoch changing development in our politics,” he said.
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“Previously, coalitions have been needed here and there in a smattering of places around the country… that is why I said it is time to rise above the cut and thrust of the election campaign and put the residents of all of those towns and cities first, and start to put together governments.”
The DA and ANC are already partners in the Government of National Unity (GNU), formed after the 2024 general elections, when the ANC lost its parliamentary majority for the first time. The DA holds six Cabinet ministries and six deputy ministerial positions.
Hill-Lewis said his party was prepared to negotiate with the ANC and other parties that had secured seats in municipal councils.
He also invited political parties willing to “put South Africans first” to enter negotiations, while acknowledging that some parties had already ruled out working with the DA.
He said he was “not offended” by their positions and respected their decisions, adding that the DA might adopt a similar stance towards certain parties in the coming weeks.
On whether the DA would demand mayoral positions in municipalities where it emerged as the largest party, Hill-Lewis said: “Those discussions are all for the negotiations. I think that most voters would say, quite rightly, that those parties who are the largest party in the coalition should have a natural expectation, but let’s keep those all for the negotiation chamber.”
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The DA is also considering different models of coalition government. He said the party was considering a national coalition model covering multiple municipal councils, although different arrangements could ultimately be adopted in different municipalities.
“All of those models will be considered on a case-by-case basis, and also a national model will be considered as well, that covers all councils. So it is premature for me to commit to any one of those models now. They are very seriously under discussion and consideration,” Hill-Lewis said.
The DA’s coalition position comes as provisional election results indicate that the party has increased its support compared with the 2021 local government elections.
With 71% of voting districts declared nationally, the DA had secured 24.46% support, compared with the 21.66% it received in 2021.
Hill-Lewis said the results demonstrated the DA’s growth as a mainstream political party representing South Africans from different racial, social and economic backgrounds.
He also claimed that more than one million black South Africans had voted for the DA in Wednesday’s polls.
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