After falling below 50 percent nationally in local elections for the first time, South Africa's ruling African National Congress is struggling to form coalitions in many key municipalities.
The largest opposition party says it won't work with the ANC and negotiations with another opposition party have broken down.
The ANC lost power in 61 key locales out of 250 nationwide. Near a November 23 deadline for the ANC to form alliances with opposition parties, the prospect looms of hamstrung local governments and maybe reelections.
President Cyril Ramaphosa vowed recently that the ANC “will not enter into coalitions at any cost...if we must be in opposition, we will be in opposition.”
But the ANC is in a precarious political position.
Lacking a needed majority, the party is compelled to form coalitions with smaller parties to retain power in scores of municipalities, including key cities such as Johannesburg.
The Democratic Alliance (DA), South Africa's main opposition party has refused any partnership with the ANC which it calls a “criminal syndicate” amid corruption investigations of current and former ANC leadership.
Julius Malema, the leader of Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), the nations' third-biggest political party, said EFF negotiations with the ANC have broken down.
The ANC failed to provide clear commitments and timelines on the key issues, he said. They included demands that EFF officials be put n charge of some city and town councils.
“The EFF will not be voting for, and will not support any candidate put forward by the ANC in all municipalities and for all positions, including positions of speakers, chief whips and mayors,” Malema said.
Civic watchdog groups say the parties should work together for the good of the citizens.
Richard Jurgens, director of Good Governance Africa, told VOA that a sensible solution would be for the two biggest parties to work together.
“We’re arguing that the logic of the results of the local elections indicates that a super-coalition of the ANC and the DA would be the most appropriate thing,” he said.
The group’s governance index shows that of all the opposition parties, only the DA has the experience necessary to help the ANC develop cities and towns, Jurgens said.
"The ANC’s hardly delivered services," he said. "The DA has been able to where it operates, although there are some complaints."
But the ANC and DA are bitter rivals and ANC officials insist they are “not in the business” of helping a party that’s “run South Africa into the ground.”
With local leadership hamstrung, the EFF and DA are looking forward to defeating the ANC in national elections in 2024, party officials say.