The number of hung councils in South Africa has skyrocketed from 24 in the year 2000 to over 81 today, crippling service delivery across municipalities. In response, COGTA Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa has announced that the new Coalition Bill will take effect for the November 4 local government elections.
The proposed legislation would make coalition agreements legally binding, ban secret ballots for ousting mayors, and introduce a 1% voting threshold for council seats. However, elections analyst Michael Atkins has raised significant questions about whether the bill can be passed in time.
“The political instability has often led to administrative difficulties within those municipalities,” Atkins said. “These discussions have been on the table for two or three years now.”
Regarding legally binding coalition agreements, Atkins noted a lack of clarity. “One of the previous draft bills said that agreement had to be binding and published. The minister has recently commented about requiring binding agreements for a coalition, but it’s not yet clear… we haven’t seen the wording of the bill.”
On the elimination of secret ballots for mayoral votes in favor of open voting by show of hands, Atkins said the aim is transparency. “The openness will hopefully deal with any underhanded dealings.”
In a significant development, Atkins reported that the minister has very recently confirmed the removal of the 1% vote threshold from the bill that will go to cabinet, largely due to constitutional concerns. “A vote threshold affects constitutional rights to vote and to fair elections. It would be very difficult to push through a constitutionally questionable amendment right on the eve of an election.”
The bill is scheduled to go to parliament in June. However, Atkins warned that local government legislation requires extensive public consultation nationwide, creating a very tight timeline for approval and presidential sign-off ahead of the November elections.
Atkins also expressed skepticism about a proposed amendment requiring municipalities to have executive committees, noting it would make the bill a “section 76 bill” requiring additional National Council of Provinces processes, typically adding six to eight weeks.
One practical provision Atkins endorsed is extending the period for electing a speaker and mayor from two weeks to 30 days, allowing more time for coalition agreements to form.
Asked whether the local government system is ready to implement massive changes smoothly, Atkins confirmed the changes under discussion would not affect the election itself, particularly without vote thresholds. “There’s nothing in a likely bill that would cause a problem for this election period or the time after.”