Pretoria - Basic service delivery could come to a screeching halt in Tshwane if the DA goes into a coalition with the EFF, analysts warned on Friday.
Both Professor Herbert Maseremule of the Tshwane University of Technology and political analyst Daniel Silke raised concerns that the marked difference in party ideology could spoil a political marriage between the two parties.
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The DA was still on a cliff-hanger with the ANC regarding the battle to control the capital on Friday night. However, it was widely believed that neither party would get a majority, which could result in a coalition.
The IEC will announce the final results on Saturday evening, in accordance with the Electoral Commission Act, which prescribes that results be declared within seven days after voting day.
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Maseremule said a DA and EFF coalition could happen in Tshwane, but it would largely be to spite the ANC and not based on principles.
He said ideologically speaking, both parties were far apart from each other. “If they go to bed together, they will constantly be at each other’s throats, and that will be at the expense of the optimal functioning of the municipality,” he said.
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The academic said if DA leader Mmusi Maimane forged a deal with the EFF, he would in fact be moving away from his predecessor Helen Zille’s paradigm that the DA would rather work with the ANC than the EFF.
Maseremule said he foresaw a situation where the ANC might eat humble pie and begin to engage the EFF. Silke said a EFF-DA coalition in Tshwane would be difficult, because both parties had economic and social policies that were worlds apart.
The parties, he said, would have to be flexible in terms of the agreement to define the character of their coalition.
Should their likely talks break down, the ANC may want to take advantage of the situation and have the EFF on its side, he said.
Silke said parties did not necessarily have to agree on every matter in a coalition. For example, they may have to craft terms on which the budget votes would be passed.
“The type of foreseeable coalition would see parties having consensus on an issue-by-issue basis,” according to Silke.
He said the possibility of the EFF forming a coalition with the ANC was slim because it would affect the party’s anti-ANC message.
EFF leader Julius Malema said his party was not engaging in coalition negotiations.
However, he said that if the DA would like to form a coalition with the EFF, it would have to commit itself to giving land to the people. “We have to agree on the land and if we can’t, let’s go and rerun,” he told the media in Pretoria.
He ruled out the ANC as a likely coalition party. “I am happy the ANC has been punished and in my lifetime I would like to see the ANC out of power,” he said.
On the other hand, Maimane ruled out working with the ANC in any coalition after the local government elections.
He said the DA was not opposed to forming coalitions with other parties, except for the ruling party.
Total votes cast: 1 244 049
To total votes cast for wards: 622 027
Total votes cast for proportional representation: 622 022
Total spoilt papers: 12 710
Registered population: 1 512 524
Total voter turnout: 623 344
Pretoria News