Local government coalition in Gauteng Province of South Africa: challenges and opportunities

In August 2016, South Africa witnessed the fifth cycle of local government elections since 1995. Regardless of the few and isolated hurdles encountered by the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) during this election, the outcome has been embraced by all participating political parties and like the previous 4 cycles of local government elections, the latest edition has been certified by both local and international observers as transparent, credible and democratic. Central to the outcome of the 2016 local government election is the fact that it has served as a watershed moment for the declining electoral support on the part of the incumbent party - African National Congress (ANC). The loss of notable electoral fortunes by the ANC has favoured the opposition parties, particularly the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and other smaller parties such as the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC). The serious nature of the closely contested 2016 local government election presented both challenges and opportunities for all participating parties. In certain parts of Gauteng province such as the City of Tshwane, Johannesburg, and Ekurhuleni, no party garnered the required majority votes (50% plus 1) to be able to solely constitute municipal government. This tumultuous situation unveils opportunities for political parties to canvass one another for the purposes of establishing coalitions of co-governing certain municipalities. In this article, we argue that this route carries both short and long-term risks and benefits for all political parties who would settle for it as it involves the making of hard, unpopular but necessary decisions. Using the critical discourse approach and the Elitist model, this article explores the impending challenges and unfolding opportunities of party coalition in selected metropolitan councils of Gauteng and draws lessons for participating political parties.