Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen has not ruled out a coalition government with the African National Congress (ANC), but has said he would first work with his party's multi-party charter partners to find a way forward.
The agreement was signed last year by the DA, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), Freedom Front Plus, Action SA and the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), among others.
The official opposition currently has 22.44% of the national vote, with elections completed in just over 71% of constituencies.
Speaking at the National Results Operations Centre in Midland as the results trickled in, Steenhausen said: “My first port of call will be with our multi-party charter partners – we are 10 other parties – and once we have the final results we will meet and discuss what we should do next together. We have built up a tremendous amount of trust through our collaboration and joint policy integration over the past year, and our joint approach has led to a very good working relationship. So I would like to speak to them before opening up any other channels of discussion with others.”
Reporter: But it doesn't exclude the ruling party?
Steenhuizen“I wouldn't rule anything out at this stage, but I think it's too early to tell either way.”
2024 Election | “The DA does not rule out anything, but our first loyalty is to the multiparty system”: Steenhausen