A coalition government exists when two or more political parties (or independent representatives) combine their votes in a legislature or a council, to elect a government, and to support the decisions it takes. This becomes necessary when no single party has a majority of the seats in the legislature or council (i.e. 51%). In local government, a governing coalition is aimed at electing an (executive) mayor, and other members of the executive, and then supporting their proposals on, for example, the budget and municipal policies.
History of coalitions in South Africa
There have been coalitions since 1994. The first democratic national government after the 1994 elections was a broad-based coalition – a Government of National Unity. There has also been coalitions at a provincial level in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, and there have been coalitions in municipalities, ever since the first democratic local government elections in 2000. However, coalitions have become a major issue since the 2016 and 2021 local government elections, when an increasing number of municipalities, including our biggest cities, had so-called ‘hung councils’, i.e. no single party won a majority of the council seats.
| Year | Coalition Partners | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | African National Congress (ANC) National Party (NP) Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) | 27 April 1994 – 3 February 1997 |
| Year | Coalition Partners | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | African National Congress (ANC) National Party (NP) Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) | Electoral cycle |
| 2004 | ANC obtained 38/80 = 46.98% | Electoral cycle |
| Year | Coalitions |
|---|---|
| 2000 | 29 |
| 2006 | 31 |
| 2011 | 37 |
| 2016 | 27 |
| 2021 | 70 |
| Province | No. of Coalition (% of Province) |
|---|---|
| Eastern Cape | 3 of (9%) |
| Free State | 4 of (21%) |
| Gauteng | 8 of 9 (88%) |
| KwaZulu-Natal | 21 of (47%) |
| Limpopo | 2 of (9%) |
| Mpumalanga | 3 of (17%) |
| Northern Cape | 10 of (38%) |
| North-West | 3 of (16%) |
| Western Cape | 16 of (64%) |
| TOTAL - NATIONALLY | 70 of (32%) |