The big wait continued on Wednesday as parties carried on the behind-the-scenes negotiations that will determine who will govern Cape Town, where no party won a clear majority in last week’s local government polls.
”Talks are continuing, progress is being made. But it all takes a long time,” Democratic Alliance spokesperson Ryan Coetzee said on Wednesday night.
”No news right now. Talks are continuing,” said African Christian Democratic Party negotiator Pauline Cupido, whose party is one of a grouping of smaller parties that could offer the DA a key to power in the city.
African National Congress provincial chairperson James Ngculu said his party had not been involved in talks with others during the day. ”We’ll meet tomorrow [Thursday],” he said.
Asked if he felt there was any progress, he said: ”I will be able to say tomorrow.”
Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille told Talk Radio 702 on Wednesday morning that the ID was talking to ”all political parties” about only two issues: a multiparty executive committee system with proportional representation for parties, and the process of electing the mayor and other senior office-bearers.
She repeated the ID stance that it was not discussing a coalition.
”We are just working together with other parties to constitute the council,” she said.
”We don’t want to be used by the bigger parties: used by the DA to keep the ANC out, used by the ANC to keep the DA out. We really believe that those days are over for that kind of politics, that we must have a multiparty system.”
She said there would probably be a clearer picture by the end of the week of where the talks were going.
The DA won 90 seats in the 210-member council, the ANC 81 and the ID 23. — Sapa