MK party sets land reform as red line for coalition talks

The MK party says it will only consider governing partnerships with groups that share its core beliefs, and only after the local government election results have been officially declared, The Citizen reported.

Former president Jacob Zuma’s party has passed one million votes in the count so far. A large share of those votes came from KwaZulu-Natal, the party’s stronghold.

Ideology before convenience

Acting deputy secretary-general Sifiso Mahlangu spoke on Thursday at the IEC Results Operations Centre at the Gallagher Convention Centre. He said coalitions were not the reason the party entered the race. “We didn’t come here for coalitions,” he said, explaining that supporters had given the party a mandate to represent them.

Mahlangu said any future talks would be decided by shared principles, not by what is politically convenient. The party, he said, would only speak to those who are “ideologically aligned”. He also said it would be hard to strike a deal with parties whose views on transformation are very different from its own.

Land question at the centre

Land reform was the issue Mahlangu raised most firmly. He said the party had been mandated by the people not to “sell out” on the land question, and that giving ground on it would betray the people who back the party.

He did not close the door on negotiations altogether. Mahlangu said the party would hold conversations with organisations that share its outlook.

Response on 2024

Mahlangu also pushed back on suggestions that the MK party had been absent from coalition discussions after the 2024 general election. “We were not missing,” he said, adding that the negotiations of 2024 began well before voters went to the polls.

Even while criticising how earlier coalition talks were handled, he said the party remained open to discussions. “Our door remains open,” he said, but that conversation would only start once results are declared. For now, he said, the party wants to win municipalities.

What this means for voters

No coalition arrangements involving the MK party have been agreed, according to Mahlangu’s remarks. Any discussion about who runs a municipality will only begin after the IEC declares the final results. Residents in areas where no party wins an outright majority should watch for those announcements, as coalition talks would follow them.

This story is based on reporting by The Citizen.