With the PA declaring its support for the coalition
In an apparent last-ditch effort to sway the Patriotic Alliance (PA) to vote with the opposition and remove the Democratic Alliance-led coalition in Nelson Mandela Bay, the PA was offered the position of mayor on Tuesday evening.
Nelson Mandela Bay councillor Marlon Daniels confirmed to News24 on Wednesday morning that he had been approached and offered the position of mayor, after PA leader Gayton McKenzie declared that the party would support the DA-led coalition during the vote of no confidence on Thursday.
“Yes, I was offered the post, but principles above positions will be the order of the day,” he said.
In an open letter to the ANC, published on Tuesday evening, McKenzie said he had been watching the developments around the latest vote of no confidence with interest, and would not support the Economic Freedom Fighters because of the racist sentiments behind the motion against Trollip.
“We are, however, disappointed with the crude display of racism that has accompanied this, particularly the analogy of cutting the throats of the DA, the threats against white people and the general contemptuous rejection of ‘whiteness’,” he said.
Numbers game
With the PA declaring its support for the coalition, it is unlikely that the motion to remove Trollip will succeed.
The ANC, which has 50 votes, said it would support the motion. Together with the support from the United Democratic Movement and its two votes and the African Independent Congress and United Front – with a single vote each – the EFF has 60 votes.
Currently, the DA has 57 votes in council. Coalition partners Cope and ACDP take the number up to 59, and with the PA, the votes are tied at 60 each.
In the event of a tie, the speaker of council, Jonathan Lawack, who is from the DA, has the casting vote. ― News24