DA and MK Party agree to coalition talks after Hill-Lewis letter
The MK Party says it has accepted a letter from DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis asking Jacob Zuma to meet for coalition discussions, possibly within two days.
The DA and the MK Party (MKP) are expected to sit down for coalition talks after DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis wrote to MKP leader Jacob Zuma asking for a meeting, IOL reported.
Advocate Dali Mpofu, the MKP’s national negotiator, confirmed the approach in an interview with SABC News on Wednesday. He said Hill-Lewis had sent a letter to Zuma proposing discussions on coalitions, and that the MKP’s secretary-general had replied to accept.
What the MKP says
Mpofu said the party’s position was simple: “we’ll speak to anybody,” he said. He added that the meeting could happen in the coming two days, and that the MKP would treat the DA the way it has treated other parties it has spoken to.
According to IOL, the development is notable because the DA has in the past rejected the idea of negotiating with the MKP or the EFF over control of key municipalities. Johannesburg and KwaZulu-Natal were among the places named.
Mpofu pointed to the DA’s Moonshot Pact, which was built around keeping both parties out of coalition discussions. He suggested it had been left behind and took a swipe at former DA leader John Steenhuisen in the process. In his view, the fact that the DA reached out under its new leadership, and that the MKP agreed, shows that both sides think there may be shared ground.
Limits to the overlap
Mpofu did not predict a close fit. He said he doubted the DA and MKP would agree on as much as the MKP and EFF do, and acknowledged the ideological and political gap between the DA and MKP. He did say that overlapping voter groups and shared interests in municipalities might leave room for cooperation.
What this means for residents
No agreement has been announced, and the report only says that a meeting has been accepted in principle. Still, coalition arrangements decide who runs councils, and so who is responsible for municipal services such as water, electricity and refuse removal. Residents of places where no party holds a clear majority, such as Johannesburg and parts of KwaZulu-Natal, may want to watch what comes out of the talks.
The DA had not been quoted in the IOL report at the time of publication, so its own account of the approach and what it hopes to achieve is not yet known.
This story is based on reporting by IOL.
