Political analysts say KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) should get used to coalition government in both provincial and local areas.
This follows recent by-elections which saw the previously ANC-controlled Umzumbe local municipality now have a hung council, with the ANC and IFP holding 17 seats each.
The by-elections were held after one councillor was expelled and a further five ANC councillors resigned, all to join the MK party, which contested all six by-elections but only won one constituency.
The province held 12 by-elections in the municipalities of Umzumbe, Umboti, Newcastle, Ufongola, Kwanongoma, Melmoth and Umzimkhulu, with the majority of the by-elections held in Umzumbe Local Municipality on the South Coast.
The IFP won the hotly contested by-elections in three of the six constituencies in Umzumbe Local Government.
In other municipal by-elections, the DA won constituency in Newcastle from the ANC, while the ANC retained its constituency in Umzimkhulu.
The IFP won an electoral constituency from the Abant Batu Congress faction in Umboti town and took one from the ANC in Mthonjaneni, giving the party a majority in the town.
“We want to appeal to the communities in KwaZulu-Natal that the IFP will provide services to them and every constituency that we win will make a donation to the municipality that we are in. So as the IFP we are very happy and we want to thank all the people in KwaZulu-Natal who supported the IFP. We were shocked by the results we got in the national and provincial elections but they have shown that they still have faith in the IFP,” says IFP KZN deputy chairperson Inkosi Ntandoyenkosi Shabalala.
In Umzumbe, the ANC previously held 21 seats in the 39-seat parliament, while the IFP held 14. As a result of the by-elections, the parliament is now hung municipally, and analysts say the province's political parties will have to learn to work together.
“Coalitions are not new, we are beginning to see coalition governments in local government, but the experience of coalition governments in South Africa has not engendered trust. Clearly the parties are not working together for different reasons and it's not a good situation but I think here in KwaZulu-Natal parties need to get used to working together,” said KwaZulu-Natal political analyst Zakule Ndlovu.
According to the IEC, the average turnout across the state was 47%, with the lowest rates being in Newcastle at 18% and Umboti at 26%.
Video: City Council by-election results: Paul Berkowitz: