Sekhukhune
The Independent Electronic Commission has declared the 2021 Municipal elections as “free and fair”.
The commission Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Glen Mashinini, made the announcement at the National Results Operation Centre in Pretoria.
“The fact that we are here today, having delivered these elections is an achievement we should all be proud of as a nation. Our thriving, vibrant and maturing democracy has indeed withstood the test thrown at it,” said Mashinini.
Out of 213 contested municipalities, in 66 municipalities no political party achieved a majority which now deemed as hung councils.
Therefore the contested parties have to form coalition government to ensure voters get service deliveries.
But the Action SA, Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Democratic Alliance (DA) and Patriotic Alliance (PA) publicly rejected to work with the African National Congress (ANC) to form coalition government.
Herman Mashaba, Action SA president was the first person to announce that his party will not work with the ANC followed by the DA then the IFP.
“IFP President Velenkosini Hlabisa said the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) resolved that they should not work with the ANC as it was not honest in the past and voters rejected it at the polls.
Following a meeting of the Federal Executive, the DA said it will not go into coalition with the ANC or the EFF.
“As the DA, we have recommitted ourselves to further weakening the ANC over the two years ahead of the 2024 elections, but more importantly, we want to bring them down below 50% in those elections and to that effect.
“We will not be entering into any coalition agreement with the EFF, the ANC and any other party that does not subscribe to constitutionalism, the rule of law, a social market economy and a capable state for the DA,” said the party leader, John Steenhuisen, during virtual press.
Steenhuisen said it was not the DA’s job to save the ANC adding that their job was to save South Africa.
Responding to the parties which rejected to work with the ANC, the party president Cyril Ramaphosa, said those parties just wanted to capture attention of the media.
“Those who do not want to talk to us, we will not be running after them. Our objective is to local government to implement the will of our people, not to play games,” said Ramaphosa.
“If we have to be in opposition, then we will be in opposition,” he said.
Ramaphosa further acknowledged that the low voter turnout was bad for democracy.
Meanwhile the political analyst, Professor Barry Hanyane, said gone are the days of arrogance and the dictating terms in terms of the party the ANC which to form coalition government with.
Hanyane said it was a sign of wounded party that internally have gone through some serious strive saying the voters have shown dismay in the manner in which politics from the ANC perspective is been run in the country.
“The voters has spoken and unfortunately this has left the ANC is some cold position,” said Hanyane.
The IEC Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Sy Mamabolo: “Although the Local Government Elections were held under challenging circumstances, their successful completion shows the determination of citizens to participate in democratic process,”