The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party has appointed a national team to lead coalition negotiations following the 2026 local government elections, moving toward formal, structured engagement with potential political partners.
Dali Mpofu Announces the National Negotiating Team
Dali Mpofu, the party’s National Disciplinary Committee chairperson, announced the delegation on Saturday, 7 November, at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban.
The responsibility of negotiating potential coalition agreements rests with this National Negotiating Team (NNT), though the party presidency retains final authority to approve or reject any proposed agreements. Mpofu issued a directive prohibiting local and regional structures from initiating or concluding coalition discussions without explicit approval from the party presidency.
The MK Party, which finished third nationally with 10% of the vote, has positioned itself as a major force in KwaZulu-Natal. As of Friday, with 71% of the votes counted, the party led the province with 34.55% of the vote and 264 council seats. It has already secured outright control of the Richmond Local Municipality, its first municipal victory in the province.
In Richmond, the party won 56.27% of the vote, securing 10 of the 17 council seats. The party also snatched the Johannes Phumani Phungula municipality from the ANC with over 48% support and recorded a victory in the Impendle municipality. In the eThekwini metro, the party maintained a lead with 42.18% of the vote.
The party’s leadership has emphasized that while coalition talks are essential in hung municipalities—with projections suggesting at least 120 councils could be hung—they will not be conducted with preconditions. Remember, this is ultimately about local government and about making sure that services are delivered. So, the political ideological issues are, yes, relevant, but they should not be dominant,
Mpofu told 702’s Clement Manyathela.
Regarding potential partners, Tony Yengeni stated the party is ready to engage with “Black” parties. The MK Party has identified the ANC, IFP, ActionSA, EFF, and African Transformation Movement among those it is prepared to engage.
MK Party Appoints High-Profile National Negotiations Team to Lead Coalition Talks The uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party has officially announced its high-profile National Negotiations Team tasked with steering the party through critical political coalition talks. The seven-member… pic.twitter.com/45HKgmm9ia
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Duduzane Zuma Refuses to Align with Rejected Parties
Duduzane Zuma, the party’s head of coalition negotiations, emphasized the party’s refusal to align with those rejected by voters. These coalition talks are critical as to who we engage. We don’t want to be in a situation where we find ourselves resurrecting people who were expelled by the electorate. There are people who have messed up,
he asserted at the Durban results operating centre.
The party has explicitly ruled out working with the Democratic Alliance (DA). Mpofu stated, The DA has come right out that they are not prepared to work with us.
Conversely, the DA KZN chairperson, Dean Macpherson, indicated his party would wait for final results before considering arrangements, noting that while the MK Party led the province, it had lost ground compared to the 2024 national elections.
Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) KZN chairperson Thami Ntuli noted that while his party emerged as the second-largest in the province, it was premature to discuss coalition partners while counting continued. The counting is still underway and I am not expecting a call from anyone regarding coalitions,
Ntuli said on Friday.
Electoral Commission of South Africa and Msunduzi
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) recorded a 48.7% voter turnout in KwaZulu-Natal.
Zuma appoints national team to lead MK Party coalition talks #MKParty #JacobZuma #LGE2026 #AfricaDailyhttps://t.co/hDDNrnsrYA
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Mpofu argued the IEC needed to get its house in order
and suggested the party might take electoral disputes to the Electoral Court, warning, Clearly, we are going to confront the same in 2029.
The commission is currently finalizing the auditing of results, with a deadline for objections set for 5pm on Friday. Final results are expected on Sunday, 8 November.
Although the MK Party emerged as the largest party, an ANC, DA, and IFP coalition could potentially command 41 seats in the 81-member council, meeting the threshold for an outright majority and keeping the MK Party out of power. The party expects coalition agreements to be concluded within 100 days of the establishment of municipal councils.
Zuma takes charge of coalition talks as MK Party appoints national negotiating team https://t.co/bfqaxivHoS
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More on MK Party
Duduzane Zuma will lead a seven-member MK Party national negotiations team to secure coalition agreements in hung municipalities following a stalemate in Wednesday’s local government elections, the party announced on Saturday. Appointed by party president Jacob Zuma. pic.twitter.com/h47x79Uy0X
— Post by @dekoskyglobal on X
The MK Party has appointed a seven-member national negotiating team to oversee all coalition discussions following the local government elections, as emerging results show the party leading the provincial vote in KwaZulu-Natal. Read on https://t.co/gIjVkhd6PB#LGE2026 #MKParty… pic.twitter.com/qlVaAm3sPo
— Post by @IOL on X
Zuma is at the MK Party media briefing in Durban announcing the national coalition negotiating team. It includes Duduzane Zuma, Dali Mpofu, Tony Yengeni, Willies Mchunu, Mxolisi Phakathi, Lindiwe Mtshali and Dr Mthanti. All talks go through this team only, no independent deals,…
— Post by @grok on X
