FF Plus coalitions and negotiations
11 August 2016
The FF Plus is currently conducting talks with various political parties about possible coalitions or cooperating agreements in councils in which no party had secured a majority of the votes. In various of these councils, the FF Plus will be able to play a role in forming coalitions.
The FF Plus is aware of various rumours doing the rounds that coalitions and agreements have been concluded at local level. These rumours are false. To date, there has been no official agreement reached with any party. Agreements will only be concluded by the FF Plus’s highest decision-making body, and not by members at local level. In this way, the FF Plus’ national position can be best judged and the best can be negotiated for the party.
Because the majority of the councils have to appoint their officials before the end of next week, these negotiations cannot continue forever. What is complicating the negotiations, is the many different combinations and parties involved in the talks. Where it is simple in the case of Hessequa in the Western Cape with the FF Plus the kingmaker between the ANC and DA, it is considerably more complicated in other municipalities, where up to five parties are involved in different combinations. Every combination could lead to a different outcome.
Where various smaller parties have just about been wiped out in the past election, the FF Plus is currently the fifth strongest party from the more than 200 parties which had participated in the local elections. The party has also grown by nearly 30% since the recent election in 2014. That is why the FF Plus is currently role player in some municipalities.
In all nine provinces, the FF Plus has increased its voting total. In some provinces it doubled, in the Western Cape it quadrupled and in the Northern Cape it even grew five-fold. The result is that the FF Plus for the first time has councillors in places where the party didn’t have any representation in the previous term.
The FF Plus, for the first time now for example has councillors in Kimberley, Upington, Koster, Ottosdal, Wolmaranstad, Schweizer-Reneke, Zeerust, Nelspruit, Worcester, Paarl, Mossel Bay, Hessequa, etc.
Issued by Pieter Mulder, FF Plus Leader, 11 August 2016
