Hlabisa plans special meeting on hung councils after elections
Ongoing: Elections Hot
Cooperative Governance Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa will meet provincial Cogta MECs to finalise coalition guidelines. Projections with 99% of votes counted showed 128 councils would be hung, and the IEC will announce official results on Sunday.
Hlabisa spoke at the IEC results centre in Midrand on Saturday. He said the government will help municipalities deal with hung councils once official results are out. Seven of the eight metropolitan municipalities are expected to be run by coalitions.
The guidelines are not law. Hlabisa said they are a contingency plan and a statement of intent, not a legally binding framework. He said he chose not to fast-track the Coalition Bill, to avoid challenges to a rushed process.
Municipalities have 14 days to constitute councils after official results are declared. Hlabisa said he is not worried that the lack of coalition legislation will necessarily produce dysfunctional coalitions. He said mutual respect among partners will decide whether coalitions succeed.
Hlabisa leads the IFP as well. He told a broadcaster in Midrand that the party won four wards in Soweto and one in Alexandra, which he said was the first time it had won wards in Soweto.
Key facts
- Who
- Velankosi Hlabisa (IFP leader); Inkatha Freedom Party (political party); Velenkosini Hlabisa (Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister); Independent Electoral Commission (electoral body announcing local government election results)
- What
- Speaking at the IEC's results centre in Midrand, Hlabisa said the government will help municipalities navigate hung councils once the IEC announces official results on Sunday. He said coalition guidelines, not yet legislation, will be finalised at a special meeting with Cogta MECs; 128 councils were projected to be hung with 99% of votes counted.
- When
- 7 November 2026
- Where
- Midrand, Soweto, Alexandra
- Status
- Reported