Africa-Press – South-Africa. A last-ditch effort is on the cards as ActionSA and the DA try to unite behind one candidate ahead of the mayoral election in Johannesburg on Friday.
A meeting involving political parties represented at the Joburg council will take place on Thursday.
The parties expected to attend include ActionSA, DA, Freedom Front Plus, ACDP and the IFP.
News24 was told the Patriotic Alliance (PA) might attend this meeting, despite the party already showing allegiance to the ANC.
The PA has the votes needed by the DA and ActionSA bloc to successfully elect a mayor of their choice.
A letter seen by News24 shows a last-minute request for the meeting was sent out to the DA and other parties on Thursday.
The letter, penned by ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont, said: “We need to convene a meeting on 4 May to identify a pathway for one candidate to emerge from our collective of parties around which we can achieve a majority.”
The six political parties previously governed Joburg in a coalition partnership until January.
The issue facing the parties ahead of Friday is that two candidates are vying for the mayoral seat. The DA announced Mpho Phalatse as a candidate, while ActionSA planned to present Funzi Ngobeni as its candidate.
This will split the votes and kill any opportunity for a possible coalition bloc.
In a video on Wednesday, DA leader John Steenhuisen appealed to political parties, who were not working with the ANC and the EFF, to vote in support of former mayor Phalatse.
Steenhuisen said:
But Steenhuisen’s insistence on Phalatse as a candidate will be challenged because the party has yet to consult other political parties.
The DA has been accused of hypocrisy in calling for a united pact to remove the ANC/EFF, but then decides on its own political strategy, separate from other political parties.
ActionSA has been the most vocal, saying the DA is abandoning its commitment to a moonshot pact.
Beaumont said his party and others were always willing to do what was possible to support a candidate that everyone could endorse.
He added that Thursday’s meeting was the last opportunity for the parties to create a united front in opposition to the ANC.
DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga said Thursday’s meeting could help provide a real alternative to the ANC and the EFF.
“The DA will today meet with other political parties to explore whether there is a way forward to guarantee a stable coalition government that residents of Johannesburg can rely on for delivery. The DA is committed to making good on our legacy as a good-faith coalition builder,” Msimanga said.
Meanwhile, the ANC is trying to tighten its candidacy, with the party expected to finalise a decision to back Kabelo Gwamanda of Al Jama-ah as a mayoral candidate.
The ANC has a solid partnership with the EFF and a group of minority parties, with enough votes to push through a candidate of their choosing.
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