More Coalitions, Less One-Party Rule? FF Plus Leader Predicts a New Municipal Reality After 2026

South Africa’s next local government elections could produce a political landscape where coalition governments are no longer unusual.

That is the view of Freedom Front Plus leader Corné Mulder, who believes more municipalities could be governed through political partnerships after South Africans vote on 4 November 2026.

But Mulder’s message came with an important warning.

Coalitions can either become a solution to South Africa’s municipal problems or make those problems worse.

Speaking during the launch of the FF Plus’s local government election manifesto in Pretoria, Mulder said coalition governments had the potential to promote collective decision-making, protect minority interests and reduce the abuse of political power.

However, he also acknowledged that South Africans have already seen the other side of coalition politics.

Instability.

Delayed decisions.

Political infighting.

And governments that struggle to focus on service delivery.

“Coalition governments can be a very bad thing. I’ve seen that in action,” Mulder said.

That may be the most honest part of the FF Plus’s election message.

Because the debate around coalitions is no longer really about whether South Africa likes them.

The country’s changing political landscape may simply be making them unavoidable.

A coalition future is becoming harder to avoid

The FF Plus believes that several municipalities could emerge from the November elections without a single political party winning an outright majority.

Its manifesto says research and polling indicate that no party may secure the 51% needed to govern alone in several municipalities.

That would force political parties to work together if they want to form governments.

The FF Plus has therefore positioned itself as a potential coalition partner, saying it would cooperate with other parties where it believes doing so would promote the interests of communities and its manifesto objectives.

The party’s position is particularly focused on municipal government.

Its manifesto argues that coalition agreements should not simply be about who gets which political position.

Instead, it says coalition partners should agree upfront on a shared governance model covering issues such as appointments, budgets, rates and taxes and spatial development.

That sounds straightforward.

South Africa’s recent coalition experience shows that doing it in practice is much harder.

South Africa has already seen the good and bad of coalitions

Mulder did not pretend that coalition government automatically produces better government.

He openly acknowledged that coalitions can be unstable and lead to delayed decision-making.

That matters because South African municipalities have already experienced the consequences of unstable political partnerships.

When coalition partners constantly renegotiate power, threaten to withdraw support or fight over positions, municipal government can become focused on political survival instead of service delivery.

Budgets can be delayed.

Leadership can change repeatedly.

Council decisions can become bargaining tools.

And residents are often left dealing with the consequences.

But the opposite argument is also important.

A government with a comfortable majority can make decisions quickly, but that does not automatically mean those decisions are good.

Mulder argued that a properly functioning coalition can force parties to consult, compromise and consider a wider range of communities.

That, in theory, can reduce the concentration and abuse of political power.

The question for South Africa is therefore not simply whether coalitions are good or bad.

The real question is whether political parties have learned how to govern together.

The FF Plus wants to be “the adult in the room”

Mulder said his party intended to remain “the adult in the room” when it comes to coalition politics.

That phrase is politically significant.

The FF Plus is not presenting itself as a party that expects to govern most municipalities alone.

Instead, it is positioning itself as a party that could become influential when larger parties need support.

That is often where smaller parties can gain significant political power.

A party does not necessarily need to win the most votes to influence a government.

It may only need enough seats to decide who reaches a majority.

This is one of the major realities of coalition politics.

Small and medium-sized parties can become kingmakers.

Their support can determine who becomes mayor.

Their votes can determine whether budgets pass.

And their withdrawal can sometimes bring down an entire administration.

The FF Plus appears to understand that possibility and is preparing for a future in which coalition negotiations could become a central part of municipal politics.

But can coalitions really improve service delivery?

This is where Mulder’s argument faces its biggest test.

South Africans do not judge municipalities mainly by how well political parties negotiate.

They judge them by what happens when they open their taps, drive on their roads and wait for electricity, refuse collection and other municipal services.

The FF Plus manifesto argues that stable coalition agreements should focus on service delivery, financial discipline and accountability rather than political positions.

The party also says a coalition agreement should establish common ground before a government is formed.

That includes agreeing on major policy issues at the beginning of a municipal term instead of fighting about every decision later.

In principle, this could make coalitions more stable.

But it depends on something South African coalition politics has often struggled with: trust.

Political parties may agree when they need each other’s votes.

The real test comes when they disagree after taking office.

The danger of coalitions built around positions

The FF Plus argues that coalition negotiations should not focus only on power and positions.

That criticism reflects one of the biggest weaknesses in many coalition governments.

If the main purpose of an agreement is simply deciding who becomes mayor, deputy mayor or member of the mayoral committee, the partnership may have very little holding it together once those positions have been allocated.

A coalition needs to answer more difficult questions.

What happens when partners disagree on the budget?

Who decides on senior appointments?

What happens if one party wants to increase rates?

How will infrastructure priorities be decided?

What happens when a coalition partner is accused of corruption?

And perhaps most importantly: What happens when one party believes it can get a better deal somewhere else?

Without clear answers, coalition governments can become vulnerable to political instability.

The FF Plus’s proposed solution is a negotiated governance model that gives coalition partners certainty from the beginning.

Whether South Africa’s political parties are prepared to stick to such agreements is another matter.

The 2026 election could accelerate the coalition era

The Electoral Commission has already described the 2026 local government elections as taking place during a period of significant political change.

South Africa’s political system has become more fragmented, with more parties competing for votes and fewer dominant majorities in several parts of the country.

That creates an environment where coalition government becomes increasingly likely.

The IEC has launched preparations for the 2026 local government elections, which are officially scheduled for 4 November. Election authorities have also highlighted the changing political environment surrounding these elections.

This means November’s elections could be about more than deciding which party wins.

In some municipalities, voters may also be indirectly deciding which parties will be forced to work together.

And that could produce some unusual political partnerships.

Coalition politics could change how South Africans vote

There is another major consequence.

Under one-party dominance, voters generally know which party will govern if that party wins enough support.

Coalition politics is more complicated.

A voter may support one party only to discover that the party later enters into an agreement with another party they strongly oppose.

This is one of the biggest political challenges of coalition government.

Parties need flexibility to negotiate.

But voters want to know what they are voting for.

That is why clear coalition principles may become increasingly important.

The FF Plus is attempting to address this by publicly stating its approach before the election.

Its manifesto says it will work with other parties where cooperation advances its objectives and will seek stable agreements based on shared governance principles.

Other parties will face the same pressure.

As coalition politics becomes more common, voters may increasingly ask political parties a simple question before election day:

Who are you willing to govern with?

The real test comes after the votes are counted

Mulder’s prediction may turn out to be correct.

More coalition governments could emerge after the 2026 local government elections.

But forming a coalition is not the difficult part.

Keeping one stable is.

South Africa has already learned that a coalition can collapse even when all the parties involved initially agree that cooperation is necessary.

The future of municipal coalitions may therefore depend less on election results and more on what happens in the days and weeks after them.

Can political parties negotiate detailed agreements?

Can they put service delivery above political positions?

Can they accept compromises without treating every disagreement as a reason to collapse the government?

And can smaller parties use their influence responsibly instead of simply becoming permanent kingmakers?

Those questions may determine whether South Africa’s coalition era improves local government or creates even more instability.

A new political reality?

In my view, Mulder is probably right about one thing.

Coalition government is becoming harder to avoid.

South African politics is becoming more competitive and more fragmented.

The days when one party could automatically expect to control every important municipality are becoming less certain.

That does not mean coalitions are automatically the future everywhere.

Some parties will still win outright majorities.

But in many municipalities, the next government may not be decided when the last ballot is counted.

It may be decided around a negotiating table.

That is why the 2026 local government elections could become another major step in South Africa’s political transformation.

The question is no longer whether the country can have coalition governments.

It already does.

The question now is whether South Africa can learn to make them work.

Corné Mulder’s message to voters was that the FF Plus intends to be part of that process.

The voters will decide how much influence the party has.

But after 4 November, the biggest political battle in some municipalities may only be beginning.