LOCAL ELECTIONS 2026: GNU has failed to change local coalition politics, report finds
The latest Coalition Barometer warns that fragmented results after the 2026 local government elections could produce more hung councils, unstable coalitions and complicated power-sharing deals.
South Africa's 2026 local government elections may see more fragmented results and unstable coalitions, warns a recent report from the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (Mistra). The GNU, a national coalition of political parties, has failed to change how parties cooperate at the local level, with the ANC and DA continuing to topple each other's municipal governments.
Neither party has ever been part of the same municipal coalition, despite governing together nationally. The report suggests that national and local coalition politics are operating on "two separate tracks that only rarely interact with each other". Former IEC deputy chairperson Terry Tselane warned that South Africa cannot expect stable coalitions at the local level, as parties enter coalition arrangements without agreeing on a common programme.
This highlights a deeper problem, as parties have different agendas and purposes, making it difficult to govern effectively.
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