The DA has issued an ultimatum to the EFF to decide whether it wants to help the ANC retain power or be part of a coalition that will unseat it in 2024.
DA leader John Steenhuisen told the Sunday Times this week that EFF voters would not be happy if the red berets helped the ANC retain power after the 2024 national general elections.
This comes after EFF leader Julius Malema this week told News24 that he would consider working with the ANC after the election but only if it was led by Paul Mashatile as president.
Also, the multiparty coalition is on shaky grounds as there is tension between the DA and ActionSA over the scandal involving Tshwane mayor Randall Williams. On Thursday, a last-minute intervention averted a motion of no confidence in Williams.
The opposition parties have started negotiations about future coalitions especially as the ANC is expected to dip below 50% in the 2024 poll. However, there are fears that the sour relations between the DA and the EFF could scupper the opposition’s chances to unseat the governing party.
The EFF refused to be part of the DA-led coalition after last year’s local government elections.
According to Steenhuisen, the EFF have a choice — face the wrath of their constituency or form part of a collective to topple the ANC.
“In councils they must make a choice: are they going to work with the ANC to bring that corrupt and failing party led by somebody who was on the other side of the Marikana dispute back into power or are they going to work with the opposition to unseat the ANC and usher in a new era of accountable and pro-poor government?” Steenhuisen said.
“I do not think their voters and supporters would like to see them breathing life into the ANC corpse but would rather see them on the side of good governance that will liberate more people from poverty and grow more opportunity through governments that are caring, responsive and focused on delivery to the people,” said Steenhuisen.
Malema declined to be interviewed.
Steenhuisen’s sentiments were echoed by ActionSA chair Michael Beaumont who said that voters were likely going to punish at the polls any political party that works with the ANC.
The party has long said it will never work with the ANC, a principle Beaumont is adamant will not change.
He said the parties that positioned themselves for years as an alternative to the ANC, with the stated purpose of removing the ANC, would alienate their voters by flirting with the idea of going into coalition with them in 2024.
I don't think the EFF's supporters would like to see them breathing life into the ANC corpse
— DA leader John Steenhuisen
UDM leader Bantu Holomisa said current coalitions looked “messy” because they were about positions rather than what constituencies wanted.
“That is why I have been saying there must be rules to guide the parties, which is what is applied in other countries.
“The voters of SA are gatvol with one party dominance so there will not be shortcuts,” he said. “The other problem of coalitions is the big parties wanting to bully the small parties. They behave like they are in the majority yet they cannot take any decision without the so-called small parties they are in coalition with.”
Holomisa said there were attempts to improve how future coalitions should function. This included a workshop to be hosted in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
“Also, we are organising a study tour of all political parties in parliament to Denmark next month. So we have to make sure that we have rules and regulation. We cannot continue as things are because it's manipulative and can easily be associated with corruption.
“So it can no longer be an issue of saying come with me I will vote with you. Coalitions are a new phenomenon so we must learn from those who have travelled this road so that we do not repeat the mistakes they have gone through.”
Malema shocked many when he told News24 that the ANC was the “better evil” that the EFF would choose to get into bed with after the 2024 elections.
Malema has in the past spoken of a DA that undermines the EFF and does not consult it on its decisions despite the party being critical to the DA being in power.
The ANC has rejected Malema’s advances with party head of elections Fikile Mbalula saying the governing party would not need coalition partners as it aims for an outright win.
“We know that coalitions will not work for the total liberation of our people and they are not in our favour, they are in favour of the small political parties and the main opposition in this country. Those are the people who are yearning for coalitions and they have duped everybody to believe in that coalitions are the way to go,” Mbalula said.
According to Mbalula, the ANC was confident of a “decisive majority” in the elections “because we have not done a dent on social transformation to a point where we can say our democracy has normalised and people can break away and form coalitions and all of that. It’s still young, we still have got a long way to go”.
“We correct a few things that we’re doing that are wrong, that are undermining our existence. We will come back strong in 2024 and if we live true to the renewal perspective we are espousing and sit on it and repeat it over and over again we will be home and dry and victorious,” Mbalula said.
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