IFP president Velenkosini Hlabisa says the party will not rush into coalition agreements, insisting that service delivery and political stability will guide its negotiations.
Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leader Velenkosini Hlabisa had told IOL that the party is preparing for coalition talks after securing outright control of five municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal in the 2026 local government elections.
Hlabisa said the party would appoint a negotiating team on Monday to lead coalition discussions with other political parties, as several municipalities across the country face coalition negotiations following the elections.
He was speaking after the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) declared the 2026 Local Government Elections free and fair during an official results announcement at the National Results Operations Centre in Midrand on Sunday evening.
The ANC emerged as the biggest party nationally, securing 30.76% of the vote, followed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) with 24.64%.
IFP prepares for coalition talks
Hlabisa said the IFP was pleased with its performance, having secured outright control of five municipalities and emerged as the leading party in 19 municipalities.
The five municipalities are uMsinga, Nongoma, Ulundi, Mthonjaneni and Nkandla.
The party received 4.69% of the national vote and secured 448 council seats.
“Thank you very much. We are very happy with the results. As the IFP, we are controlling five councils as a party on our own, and we are going to be leading 19 municipalities,” Hlabisa said.
“That shows that the people still have confidence in the IFP, and that our message of service delivery, of honesty and of putting people first is resonating.”
Hlabisa said the party's National Executive Committee (NEC) would meet in Durban on Monday to establish a team mandated to negotiate with other political parties.
“The NEC will constitute a negotiating team. That team will be mandated to negotiate with all political parties,” he said.
“We are open. We are not closing doors to anyone. We will talk to everyone who wants to talk to us.”
However, he stressed that the IFP would not enter into coalitions simply to secure positions in municipal councils.
“We are not going into coalitions just for the sake of getting into power. We are not desperate for positions,” he said.
Hlabisa identified stability and sustainable service delivery as the party's non-negotiable conditions for coalition agreements.
“First, stability. There must be stability in the council. Second, sustainable service delivery. The people must get water, they must get electricity, they must get roads, they must get refuse removal,” he said.
“If a party agrees with us on those principles, then we can work together.”
He warned that the party would not support coalition agreements driven by political positions or access to municipal tenders.
“If a party wants a coalition that is only about sharing positions and sharing tenders, then we will not be part of that,” he said.
Hlabisa added that the party would use the 14-day period provided for the constitution of municipal councils to negotiate carefully.
“We will negotiate in good faith, we will respect the will of the voters, and at the end, we want councils that will work for the people,” he said.
ANC leads national results
The IFP's coalition preparations come as the ANC emerged as the biggest party nationally, securing 30.76% of the vote.
The DA came second with 24.64%, followed by the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party with 9.76%, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) with 6.22% and ActionSA with 5.67%.
According to IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya, the ANC secured outright control in 53 municipalities and emerged as the leading party in 128 municipalities.
The DA secured outright control in 12 municipalities and emerged as the leading party in 32 municipalities.
The IFP secured outright control in five municipalities, while the MK Party won three municipalities outright.
Overall, 74 of the country's 213 municipal councils have a party with an outright majority.
Moepya confirmed that the results of 212 municipal councils had been concluded.
Approximately 14.9 million South Africans cast their ballots, representing a national voter turnout of 52%.
This was an increase of 6.1 percentage points from the 45.9% recorded in the 2021 Local Government Elections.
A total of 29.2 million voters were registered for the elections, with 520 political parties and 636 independent candidates contesting 10,526 council seats.
IEC declares elections free and fair
During Sunday's announcement, Moepya declared the 2026 Local Government Elections free and fair.
“I am pleased, on behalf of the Electoral Commission of South Africa, to declare the 2026 Local Government Elections free and fair,” he said.
He said the commission had dealt with objections during the electoral process but remained prepared to adjudicate further objections after the declaration, as provided for under Section 65 of the Local Government Municipal Electoral Act.
Moepya acknowledged that the elections had not been without challenges, saying the commission had a responsibility to recognise its shortcomings and improve its processes.
“No institution can take itself seriously if it does not acknowledge its shortcomings,” he said.
He added that the IEC would continue working towards strengthening public confidence through competence, impartiality, transparency, accountability and integrity.
IEC to arrange re-election at affected Northern Cape voting station
Despite the conclusion of the national counting process, the IEC will withhold the results of an affected voting station in Douglas, in the Northern Cape's Siyancuma Municipality, following the destruction of ballot papers.
Moepya said political activists had allegedly stormed the voting station and destroyed ballot papers before they could be counted.
He said the commission would arrange a re-election at the affected station in terms of Section 10 of the Local Government Municipal Electoral Act.
“The commission will determine this pretty soon,” he said.