by Hlumelo Xaba
The uMkhonto Wesizwe Party (MKP) contested its first Local Government Elections in 2026. The MKP continued the upward trajectory that it had started in KZN by immersing its position as the largest party in KZN, a position which it attained following its resounding performance during the 2024 general election. Despite the 45% support it garnered in KZN in 2024, the MKP failed to form part of the provincial government in the province. Instead, the Party was outmuscled by the alliance of the IFP, DA, ANC, and the NFP which elected Thami Ntuli as the Premier of KZN. Part of the reasons that can be attributed to the MKP not leading the coalition of KZN was its poor strategy in terms of how it approached coalition negotiations across the board. The MKP’s preoccupation with the removal of President Cyril Ramaphosa as a precondition to co-governing with the ANC and other political parties left it trapped out of both national and provincial levers of power where it had leverage.
Currently, the MKP is the leading political party in Ethekwini with 86 seats which translate to 38%. Meanwhile, the troika of the ANC, DA, and IFP which prevented the MKP from becoming the leader of the coalition in the provincial legislature has a combined 109 seats. Essentially, this implies that the alliance which is co-governing at a provincial level is better positioned than the MKP to determine how Ethekwini gets governed given its numerical strength which would only require three more votes compared to the MKP’s twenty-six. The MKP’s provincial ally, the EFF retained only 4 out of the 24 seats it had received in the Ethekwini council during the 2021 LGE, making it the 6th largest party in Ethekwini currently. The EFF’s weakened position in Ethekwini leaves the MKP with the option of either reaching out to stronger players like the ANC and the IFP, a move that would automatically isolate the DA from being a coalition partner. Alternatively, they could cobble a partnership with the EFF and other small parties in the Ethekwini council. However, a fragmented coalition partnership poses a risk of political instability because all the other small parties in the Ethekwini Council account for either one or two seats in council except for the EFF and ActionSA (7).
Interrelations between different political parties play a central role in how coalitions get established. This is evidenced by how coalitions in the different metros have been established over the past 10 years. The MKP’s relationship with the ANC, IFP and DA in KZN since 2024 is characterized by hostility and criticism. This subsequently led to the MKP tabling a failed motion of no confidence against Thami Ntuli in December 2025. Poor coordination coupled with the absence of a coherent political approach to coalition arrangements was a key characteristic that led to the MKP not being able to form part of the KZN government despite them being the largest party in the legislature. The outcome of the 2026 LGE in KZN depict the MKP’s dominance in a lot of municipalities that are former ANC strongholds. The real test for the MKP is whether it can capitalize on its dominance across all hung councils in KZN, including Ethekwini.
The Party has appointed a negotiating team comprising of senior leaders including Adv Dali Mpofu, Tony Yengeni, Duduzane Zuma, and Dr Thanti Mthanti. According to some of Adv Dali Mpofu’s utterances in recent media interviews, the party appears to have deviated from the approach it used during the 2024 negotiation phase of tabling unwarranted demands as a basis of forming a coalition. Contrarily, the MKP has an appreciation of the local political environment and the importance of shared objectives in the formation of coalition governments. The consistency of the MKP’s approach during this phase will be crucial in determining whether it will form part of the governing coalition in Ethekwini or whether history will repeat itself as it did in the aftermath of the 2024 general election.
Hlumelo Xaba is a Governance and Political Analyst