As the final election results become clearer, parties will likely intensify coalition talks and move towards reaching an agreement.
With the African National Congress (ANC)'s approval rating falling below 50% in Gauteng, parties in the Multiparty Charter have reiterated their main focus on forming a coalition government with parties that share their core values and put the interests of the people of Gauteng first.
Attention is now focused on who the ANC, which won the most votes in Gauteng and nationwide, will align with in Gauteng.
The ANC says it is confident of retaining leadership in the province, even as the Democratic Alliance (DA) closes in on it as vote counting in the province continues.
With around 60% of votes already counted in Gauteng, the ANC is currently leading Gauteng with 35.53%, followed by the DA with 27.58% and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) in third place with 12.41%.
“We are hopeful and positive that we will get a good result as the ANC in Gauteng, but we have no objections. We accept the wishes of the people and look forward to what comes after the elections. We will continue to work hard for the people and to resolve the issues that people face on a daily basis,” explains ANC Gauteng electoral chief Lebogang Maile.
MK Party
The Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) party in Gauteng says it is confident that its vote tally will steadily increase as the counting progresses.
The MK party, seen as a newcomer, is currently in fourth place in Gauteng with around 220,000 votes.
Gauteng MK party spokesperson Bafana Mahlabe elaborated, “The numbers are still being tallied and are gradually increasing so we still believe we can do better than where we are at the moment. We believe that by the time we finish consolidating the votes we will exceed the consolidation rate we have at the moment.”
Video: 2024 Election – ANC, MK and ActionSA in Gauteng react to provincial election results so far
concern
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) in Gauteng expressed concern that the MK Party may erode their base. The province has voted in 2,107 of the 2,797 constituencies, winning 75.33% of the vote. The IFP has so far garnered 0.92% of the vote. IFP Gauteng Secretary Aluko Ngobese…
“We are definitely concerned because the trends that are happening in KwaZulu-Natal will have an impact here in Gauteng as well. We are also concerned that such parties may come into being. But we have not suffered much here in Gauteng. Only a few members have left, the majority have stayed and are with us. For now, we are keeping our cards open. We have not been approached by anyone yet but we know that we are part of a multi-party charter. Only time will tell.”