Mudslinging, grandstanding and a numbers war dominated the second week of floor crossing, as the Democratic Alliance and the New National Party intensified their drive for the hearts and minds of about 300 DA councillors who have not declared themselves.
Claims that councillors were being lured by ”cheque book politics” and the promise of positions abounded.
The NNP claimed 330 NNP-nominated councillors had returned to the fold by Thursday morning. The DA claimed only a third of the 612 NNP municipal representatives in its 1 409-strong ranks had crossed.
The DA moved in Parliament for the dissolution of the National Assembly as a step towards elections to test the real will of the electorate.
Previously the party demanded that the NNP, now in cooperation with the African National Congress, test voters’ support through countrywide local government elections.
DA leader Tony Leon noted that ”the faith of many voters in the democratic system is damaged when representatives cross the floor for career advancement or for reasons that have nothing to do with principle”.
The NNP slammed his call as a ”media gimmick” to cover up the demise of the ”Death Alliance”.
In the Eastern Cape the NNP claimed another six defections, implying that 14 of its 24-strong contingent among the 108 DA councillors in the province had crossed to it.
In Gauteng it claimed that 40 of the 53 former NNP members in the 248-strong DA component had crossed. In KwaZulu-Natal the claim was more modest: 16 of 45 former NNP members had returned to the party. The DA’s total tally is 181.
The DA’s North West leader, Chris Hattingh, said the NNP in the province could only lure back 11 of its original 28 councillors despite ”weeks of wheeling, dealing, offers of executive positions and extreme pressure on councillors”, which indicated the deepening moral and legitimacy crisis” in the NNP.
The scale of defections will only be known for sure when the Independent Electoral Committee announces the result after floor crossing ends.
One definite setback for the DA was the loss of Stellenbosch, which fell to the ANC-NNP with two defections, when a DA deal with independents crumbled. Meanwhile, the UDM has lost absolute control in Umtata, the only municipality it ruled, after three defections to the ANC.