Velenkosini Hlabisa Says IFP Open to Working With MK Party in KwaZulu-Natal’s Hung Municipalities
- Inkatha Freedom Party president Velenkosini Hlabisa discussed his party's willingness to enter coalition talks in KwaZulu-Natal's hung municipalities
- Hlabisa laid out clear conditions any potential coalition partner would need to meet before the IFP considered working with them
- 34 of KwaZulu-Natal's 44 municipalities returned hung councils after the local elections, leaving governance in limbo across the province
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Byron Pillay, a Briefly News journalist, has spent a decade reporting on South Africa's political landscape, crime, and social issues. He worked as a newspaper journalist for 10 years before transitioning to online journalism.
KWAZULU-NATAL — Inkatha Freedom Party president Velenkosini Hlabisa has opened the door to coalition talks with the uMkhonto weSizwe Party in KwaZulu-Natal, saying no political formation has been ruled out as a potential governance partner in hung municipalities.
Hlabisa said the IFP's position was straightforward: any party willing to prioritise voters over political self-interest and commit to stable local governance would be considered.
"We would want to get into a coalition with any political party that will not put unreasonable conditions, but that will prioritise and also demonstrate that there will be stability and be no changes of leadership today, tomorrow, and the following day, and will be prepared to put the interest of the voters as a priority over the political interest," he said.
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Beyond the MK Party question, Hlabisa outlined a broader principle on how coalition power should be distributed: the party with the most council seats should hold the mayoral position.
KZN coalition talks needed after elections
The statement carries particular weight given the outcome of KwaZulu-Natal's local elections, in which 34 of the province's 44 municipalities returned hung councils.
The MK Party and the IFP are the two leading parties in roughly 18 to 20 of those municipalities, making their relationship central to how local government takes shape across the province.
In eThekwini, South Africa's second-largest city, the MK Party won 86 of 223 council seats, with the Democratic Alliance securing 57, the African National Congress 37 and the IFP 15. No single party or combination has yet reached the 112-seat threshold needed for a majority.
The two parties have a history of coalition negotiations. Following the 2024 general elections, the MK Party approached the IFP for provincial talks in KwaZulu-Natal, but those discussions collapsed. The IFP ultimately joined a Government of Provincial Unity alongside the ANC, the DA and the National Freedom Party, with the IFP's Thami Ntuli becoming KZN Premier.
ActionSA opens door to MK Party coalition talks in KZN
Briefly News also reported that ActionSA and the MK Party were scheduled to meet to explore coalition deals in KZN.
The talks follow the 2026 Local Government Elections, where no single party won outright majorities in several municipalities.
ActionSA's KZN chairperson outlined three conditions any coalition partner would need to accept before an agreement is reached.
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Source: Briefly News
