Collen Malatji Rejects Any Local Government Coalition Deal Between ANC And The DA

As talks begin after the 2026 local government elections, Collen Malatji, president of the African National Congress Youth League, has said that the ANC should refrain from forming coalitions with groups that he views as racist or very right-wing.

Malatji said the youth league supports collaborating with parties that respect black and historically disadvantaged South Africans and support pro-poor policies. To him, it was imperative that coalition members work together to eliminate economic disparities and bring about a more equitable distribution of wealth.

Malatji did not propose a uniform coalition structure for all municipalities, despite the widespread interpretation of his remarks as a rejection of an agreement with the Democratic Alliance. He said that due to the unique political dynamics of each council, it would be premature to declare favored partners universally. The ANCYL has publicly declared its belief that the ANC should use hung councils as a bargaining chip to get sufficient support to execute its local government platform.

The parties are evaluating the results and trying to reach an agreement in towns where they did not win a majority. The allocation of executive roles, the formation of coalitions to govern local administrations, and the selection of mayors are all outcomes of coalition discussions in such councils.

While the MK Party is widely anticipated to take control of many municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal, Malatji also touched on the ANC’s position in the province. He stated the ANC was doing better in the province than it had in the 2024 national and provincial elections, although conceding that the local election results were not yet official at the time of his interview. He said that the data demonstrated an improvement, which he attributed to the ANC’s attempts to restructure the provinces.

The ANCYL president stated he did not regard the MK Party as an existential danger to the ANC. He said that the party’s campaign was based on fearmongering and tribalism. These were Malatji’s political opinions, not conclusions drawn from anything other than the election outcomes.

There is ongoing discussion inside the ANC, stoked by the youth league’s stance, as to whether the formation of stable governments should take precedence over ideological conformity. The issue of local coalition selections is very contentious due to the ANC’s national membership in the Government of National Unity, which includes the DA and other parties.

The ANC has not made a final decision to exclude the DA from all municipal arrangements just because Malatji said so. Negotiations and decisions made by the party’s leadership will determine its final strategy. The youth league has made plain, however, that it wants coalition partners to embrace pro-poor measures and reject what it defines as racist or extreme right-wing views.

Whether the ANC’s municipal agreements mirror that stance or are mainly influenced by local seat numbers and the necessity to establish ruling majorities will be the crucial question to be addressed as negotiations advance.

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