South Africa’s political landscape has entered a new era in which coalition governments are becoming an increasingly important feature of its democratic architecture. At local government, following from the 2016 and 2021 municipal elections, an increasing number of councils had no party with an outright majority. After the 2021 elections, roughly 70 municipalities were hung councils, requiring coalitions or other governing arrangements. This shift presents both opportunities and challenges for political parties, elected representatives and citizens and indeed has a bearing for the state of the country’s democracy and its stability. Often regarded as a sign of a maturing democracy, coalition governance provides opportunities for parties to work across ideological and organisational differences to form and sustain governing arrangements that serve the needs of society. Coalitions can strengthen a culture of dialogue, negotiation, compromise, consensus-building and shared accountability, and strengthen oversight, while encouraging political actors to focus beyond electoral competition but also towards collaborative approaches to governance and service delivery.
However, in the South African context coalitions have often been unstable. Seen more as “marriages of convenience’ rather than presenting opportunities for consensual governance, the
challenges experienced include partner withdrawals and shifting alliances, lack of common programmes, competition for positions, and the disproportionate influence of smaller parties, amongst others. The opportunity to turn this narrative around and leverage on the benefits that can be achieved through coalition governments require closer attention, encouragement and support. This Cool Politics Café will provide an open and interactive platform for examining how coalition governments can work better in strengthening democratic accountability, improving service delivery and encouraging collaborative leadership while navigating political differences and crucially, strengthening national social cohesion. With the local government elections looming, the dialogue will focus on facilitating a constructive multi-stakeholder dialogue on strengthening coalition governance in South Africa, drawing on lessons from local government experience to identify practical principles and reforms that can promote stable, accountable, transparent and service-delivery-oriented coalitions.
Can South Africa’s political parties put their differences aside and make coalition governments work for the people?
Join the conversation at the Cool Politics Café as we unpack coalition politics, political accountability and the future of governance in South Africa. Cool Politics Café RSVP link
- Dialogue date: Thursday, 1st October 2026.
- Venue: Market Theatre Square, Newtown, Johannesburg.
- Time: 5PM-8PM
See the full Cool Politics Café Concept for more details
Watch our previous Cool Politics Café as we commemorating 50 years since the historic June 16 Soweto Uprising.
