Musical beds for polls

25 April 2016 - 02:16 By Aarti J Narsee

This might be the year for opposition political parties to team up and overpower the ANC. Political analysts believe that there is a strong chance that parties will form coalitions in areas where ANC popularity has been slipping.These include Nelson Mandela Bay, Tshwane and Johannesburg.Former Cosatu secretary-general Zwelinzima Vavi confirmed at the weekend that DA leader Mmusi Maimane met him in February to suggest that they join forces in an attempt to win the Nelson Mandela Bay metro from the ANC.However, Vavi said he had referred the DA to United Front leaders in the metro. The DA denied that it was in coalition talks.Political analyst Daniel Silke said that both the DA and the ANC were "likely to need a coalition partner"."I think these key metros are vulnerable to requiring a coalition in order to govern."It is entirely feasible for the DA at this stage to start to make overtures to other political parties that may be willing participants in a coalition. But you can expect the ANC to do the same," said Silke.Steven Friedman, director of the Centre for the Study of Democracy at the University of Johannesburg, thinks there is a strong chance of team work during August's local government elections, but added that some parties might be confident that they do not need a coalition to win in some areas."I am not even sure that the politicians have even reached decisions on this. Part of the problem is that many of the major parties believe that they are going to win and if you are going to win you don't spend a lot of time discussing coalitions," said Friedman."Nelson Mandela Bay is a good example. The DA is adamant that it will win Nelson Mandela Bay."One expects that they are not spending a lot of time discussing coalitions," he said.The EFF was the least likely to work with other parties, Silke said."I don't think the EFF will find the constraints of a coalition compatible with its style of politics."He said the DA was expert at "building diverse coalitions with very diverse political groupings"...

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