Parties band together to keep the ANC out of Joburg

Leaders and delegations from the DA, ActionSA, FF Plus, ACDP, UDM and Cope have banded together in a bid to keep the ANC out of local government.

The parties met in Johannesburg on Friday to discuss the way forward in forming coalition governments.

The meeting was a follow-up to the meeting held on 15 November between these parties.

“The discussions were constructive and the parties agreed that in the interest of the future of South Africa it is important to form stable governments which are serious about service delivery and arresting the decay of local government,” said the parties in a joint statement.

The discussions focused on the Tshwane and Johannesburg metros.

In Tshwane, the parties agreed to support the DA’s mayoral candidate and form a coalition government.

“In Johannesburg, the parties will attempt to keep the ANC out and form a minority government,” said the statement.

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The majority of these parties agreed to support the mayoral candidate of ActionSA, but consensus hasn’t been reached on Johannesburg yet.

“The DA took a decision at their Federal Executive that where they secured the majority of votes amongst opposition parties, they will put forward their mayoral candidate,” said the statement.

“They will however report the contents of the discussions to their Federal Executive for consideration.”

Further discussions between parties are expected to continue over the weekend to finalise the way forward.

The political parties expressed their appreciation to residents of the Johannesburg and Tshwane metros for their patience while these negotiations are finalised.

The Johannesburg Metro Council is set to meet on Monday, 22 November to constitute the council.

(Compiled by Narissa Subramoney)

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