Official opposition Democratic Alliance leader, Tony Leon, held out the olive branch to Independent Democrats (ID) leader Patricia de Lille. In his weekly internet letter, SA Today, the DA leader said on Friday that his party was willing, on a case-by-case basis, to enter into opposition coalitions or to participate in minority governments in municipal councils, following this week’s local government election.
But in a clear reference to the ID, he said: “The DA local government manifesto makes it clear that our party favours the executive committee system rather than the executive mayor system, in order to ensure that power is not centralised in one person and that all residents are represented in the key decision-making bodies”.
The ID has come out strongly in favour of an executive committee system in Cape Town — where the DA needs its support to rule with an overall majority. It is the only metropolitan city where an opposition party has won the largest slice of the vote, and where an opposition collection of parties has won more than 50% of the council.
Leon noted that “the rancour and rhetoric” of the campaign were now behind us. “The voters expect us to move beyond the past and prepare for the future.”
The official opposition leader felt that one of the lessons of the election was that his party “has once again won the overwhelming share of the opposition vote in South Africa. We have increased the space for opposition in councils across the country, giving comfort to voters who believe that strong and principled opposition is necessary for effective and accountable government.”
Meanwhile, based on the results, it is becoming increasingly clear that an overwhelming majority of South African voters have placed their confidence in the ANC to lead the process of building better communities and improving the living conditions of all South Africans, the ANC said on Thursday.
The ruling party said that while it would await the final results before making a comprehensive statement, a number of telling observations were possible on the basis of the results made available so far.
However, it said it was important to note that these observations did not include the metro results, which were still being awaited. “More South Africans have voted. From those municipalities whose results have so far been declared by the IEC, the data indicates that the absolute number of people who cast their vote in this election is significantly higher than in the 2000 local government election. It should be noted, however, that because the number of registered voters has increased over this period, the percentage turnout is lower in some cases.
“The ANC vote has grown. The absolute number of people who have cast their votes for the ANC is significantly higher than in the 2000 election, as is the percentage of votes the ANC received in most councils,” the ANC said in a statement. — I-Net Bridge