Two Western Cape academics have warned political parties in the midst of coalition talks against granting "kingmakers" powerful positions without considering the consequences.
"The party or independent councillor with the smallest number of seats in the coalition can drive a hard bargain and demand to be rewarded with the most prestigious political office … the practice of rewarding kingmakers with the most powerful positions is undemocratic.
"This is why they often fail," they write.
In anticipation of post-election coalition politics, academics Jaap de Visser and Jennica Beukes from the Dullah Omar Institute at the University of the Western Cape developed a framework on coalitions for the SA Local Government Association.
They say it is appropriate that kingmakers receive compensation for participating in coalitions but warn that leapfrogging them to high positions, such as mayor, flies in the face of voters’ intentions. While it is not illegal to go against their wishes in this way, it is a reward for a political trade.
The 2021 local government election resulted in the highest number of hung councils since the first democratic municipal elections in 2000.
Parties haggling for a majority have until Tuesday to conclude their deals before inaugural council meetings. The law stipulates that the first council meeting must occur within 14 days of the election results being confirmed.
Slapdash agreements
The provision gives political parties limited time in which to reach consensus on how to govern together. The timeline poses an arguable risk in that slapdash coalition agreements can emerge to the detriment of voters’ interests.
In 2016, there were 27 hung councils, including four of SA’s eight metros: Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, Nelson Mandela Bay and Tshwane. In the 2021 election, that number rose to five with the addition of eThekwini.
The spike in councils that lack an outright winner has brought coalition politics to the fore, but parties’ deliberations in private talks remain off limits to the voters who support them.
Parties’ options include entering coalitions, agreeing to short-term undertakings on a case-by-case basis (such as supporting another party’s mayoral candidate) without committing to long-term agreements, and abstaining from voting at council meetings.
The academics’ document flags a trend of unstable coalition politics in SA. It gives parties advice on how to build sturdy coalitions, develop policy programmes, and guard against pitfalls. They suggest it is a sign of mature politics for coalition partners to record where they "agree to disagree" and formalise how they will resolve conflicts.
The academics note that though legislation does not regulate parties’ undertakings when it comes to talks, the law confronts coalitions when local governments are established. Legislation, including the Municipal Structures Act and Systems Act, applies in this case.
The academics say the failures and shortcomings in past coalitions in SA’s municipalities arose from secrecy, vague undertakings and failures to tailor provisions to the municipality and to adhere to the coalition in practice.
"These problems are often the result of an ineffective, rushed and incomplete coalition formation," they say.
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