Ntombi Nkosi, Kailene Pillay, Noni Mokati
Tshwane – The Electoral Commission without a doubt found itself in a tight corner organising this year's local government elections – having had only 42 days to prepare.
With the elections and declaration of results now done and dusted, a whirlwind journey is far from over for political parties who now have the task of forming partnerships should they want to lead certain municipalities.
While some have insisted that they won’t be quick to rush into forming coalitions with each other, the results from this year’s local government tell a different story.
Speed is of the essence as parties will have to begin formulating talks with each other.
The municipal polls have also seen a decline in support for major political parties such as the ANC.
Nationally, the ruling party struggled to reach the 50% mark – walking away with 46.05% in comparison to the 53.9% it bagged in 2016.
In addition, these elections have played out differently with many hung councils emerging, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape and the three metros in Gauteng.
The IEC declared that there are 66 hung municipalities.
To break even, the parties will need the support of small parties such as new kids on the block ActionSA, the Patriotic Alliance, GOOD, ATM and those parties that have previously played as kingmakers such as the EFF, the National Freedom Party and the African Independent Congress (AIC).
The IEC on Thursday night said it delivered free and fair elections, despite several glitches which included ballot papers being tampered with and its new voter management devices being responsible for delays.
“We are satisfied that, bar a few incidents, for which we apologise, that we have delivered quality elections," IEC chairman Glen Mashinini said.
In this year's local government elections, 26.1 million South Africans were registered to vote and only 12.3 million people cast their ballots.
Political Bureau