More coalitions are coming, with power, not delivery, the kingmaker

Daily Maverick · 🇿🇦 public South Africa · Aug 05, 2026 · 2504 words · By Susan Booysen

Coalition Governance Failure ANC Electoral Decline Political Instability

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What to know about Coalition Governance Failure

Saturated with experiences of lapses in local government and volatility in governing coalitions, South Africa is lurching towards the 2026 local government elections (LGE2026).

Claims checked 10

Techniques found 3

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Right coverage

Left12%

Center88%

Right0%

8 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Saturated with experiences of lapses in local government and volatility in governing coalitions, South Africa is lurching towards the 2026 local government elections (LGE2026).

Why it matters

A deluge of further coalition governments awaits as participating political parties adapt and outsmart one another.

Common ground

Coalition cultures evolve while governance and delivery trail.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Name Calling / Labeling, Exaggeration / Hyperbole: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Coalition Governance Failure story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that The municipalities of Beaufort West, iKheis, Hantam and Mthonjaneni are no longer under coalition governance?
How does this story connect Coalition Governance Failure with ANC Electoral Decline over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-08-05-more-coalitions-are-coming-wi…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 3 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 95% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

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Name Calling / Labeling 85% confidence

Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.

Why it matters: Recognizing name calling / labeling helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Exaggeration / Hyperbole 80% confidence

Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.

Why it matters: Recognizing exaggeration / hyperbole helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 10 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

verified Verified By Reference 4

info Single Source 3

help Insufficient Evidence 2

check_circle Corroborated 1

info

Claim 1: “The municipalities of Beaufort West, iKheis, Hantam and Mthonjaneni are no longer under coalition governance.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The search results for Beaufort and Mthonjaneni do not provide information regarding their current coalition status or whether they have ceased to be under coalition governance.

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web search NEUTRAL — The Mthonjaneni Local Municipality council consists of twenty-five members elected by mixed-member proportional representation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mthonjaneni_Local_Municipality…

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web search NEUTRAL — Beaufort is located on Port Royal Island, in the heart of the Sea Islands and South Carolina Lowcountry. The city is widely known for its scenic location and for preserving the historic character of i…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaufort,_South_Carolina

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web search NEUTRAL — The Beaufort scale (/ ˈboʊfərt / BOH-fərt) is an empirical measure that relates wind speed to observed conditions at sea or on land. Its full name is the Beaufort wind force scale.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaufort_scale

verified

Claim 2: “The field of local coalition governments could be stretched well beyond the 70 out of 257 local and metropolitan municipalities under coalition government following LGE2021.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The evidence from 'THE AFRICAN' explicitly states that the 2021 local government election resulted in a total of 70 hung local municipalities and the formation of 70 coalition governments.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE was the decisive event of the First Jewish Revolt against the Roman Empire (66–73 CE). Roman forces led by Titus besieged Jerusalem, the Jewish capital and the revolt's…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Jerusalem_(70_CE)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Garrick Higgo (born 12 May 1999) is a South African professional golfer who currently plays on the PGA Tour, European Tour and the Sunshine Tour. He has won three times on the European Tour, winning t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrick_Higgo

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC) is a defunct United States research facility dedicated to the study of foreign animal diseases of livestock located off the eastern tip of Long Island, New Yo…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plum_Island_Animal_Disease_Cen…

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 3: “attempts to redesign local government to bring in workable municipal institutions are in a White Paper Review stage”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found after searching for the White Paper Review stage of local government redesign.

verified

Claim 4: “In the four sets of local elections from 2000 to 2016 the number of coalition governments per election had hovered around 30.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

No evidence was provided that specifies the number of coalition governments hovering around 30 per election between 2000 and 2016.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2000 African Women's Championship was the 4th edition of the biennial African women's association football tournament organized by Confederation of African Football and the second to be hosted by …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_African_Women's_Champions…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following lists events that happened during 2000 in South Africa.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_in_South_Africa

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — New Zealand (the All Blacks) and South Africa (the Springboks) have been playing rugby test matches against each other since 1921 when the All Blacks beat the Springboks in Dunedin 13–5. It is argued …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_rugby_union_matches…

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 5: “The Coalitions Bill is before Parliament”

SINGLE SOURCE

The search results provide general definitions of 'coalition' but do not mention a specific 'Coalitions Bill' currently before the South African Parliament.

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web search NEUTRAL — Although persons and groups form coalitions for many and varied reasons, the most common purpose is to combat a common threat or to take advantage of a certain opportunity, resulting in the often temp…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalition

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web search NEUTRAL — There are different forms of coalition governments, minority coalitions and surplus majority coalition governments.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coalition_government

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web search NEUTRAL — COALITION meaning: 1. the joining together of different political parties or groups for a particular purpose, usually…. Learn more.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/coali…

verified

Claim 6: “at the time of writing, about 105 out of South Africa’s 205 local municipalities remain under outright ANC majorities. The DA follows with 11 and the IFP with nine.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence mentions the ANC losing majorities in four metros in 2021, but does not provide the specific count of 105 ANC, 11 DA, and 9 IFP majorities in local municipalities.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The following is a list of events affecting Philippine television in 2024. Events listed include television show debuts, finales, cancellations, and channel launches, closures and rebrandings, as well…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_in_Philippine_television

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Orania (Afrikaans pronunciation: [uəˈrɑːnia]) is a white separatist South African town founded by Afrikaners. It is located along the Orange River in the Karoo region of the Northern Cape province. Th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orania

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Venstre (Danish: [ˈvenstʁɐ], lit. 'Left', V), full name Venstre, Danmarks Liberale Parti (English: Left, Denmark's Liberal Party), is a conservative-liberal, agrarian political party in Denmark. Found…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venstre_(Denmark)

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 7: “Subsequent by-elections have added and subtracted a few coalition councils, bringing the current total to 76.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

While general information about coalitions in South Africa was found, no specific source in the provided evidence confirms the current total has risen to 76 due to by-elections.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — South Africa is a linguistically diverse country and has twelve official languages: Ndebele, Sepedi, Sotho, South African Sign Language, Swazi, Tsonga, Tswana, Venda, Afrikaans, Xhosa, Zulu, and Engli…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_South_Africa

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. The country consists of nine provinces, and is bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 miles…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The South Africa African XI was a cricket team that played several matches in South Africa between 1973 and 1976, including two List A matches in the Gillette Cup. South Africa was boycotted by the ot…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa_African_XI

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 8: “The ANC’s 17-percentage-point national decline from 2019 to 2024 (15 percentage points in Gauteng)”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence provides projections and specific provincial declines (e.g., Mpumalanga 19 points), but does not confirm a national decline of exactly 17 percentage points or a Gauteng decline of exactly 15 percentage points between 2019 and 2024.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — According to Scholtz, the ANC is expected to decline by 19 percentage points in the province, from 71% in 2019 to 52% in 2024. This is after the ANC identified Mpumalanga as a province with the potent…
https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/anc-set-to-lose-outr…

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web search NEUTRAL — Early projections continue to show that the ANC could lose its majority in Gauteng. This could see the party scramble to form a government in the coming days. Find everything you need to know about th…
https://archive.md/SWmYo

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web search NEUTRAL — The ANC continued to decline electorally but the pace of decline slowed significantly. From 2014 to 2019, the party shed approximately 3.4 percentage points, hovering just above the critical 50% thres…
https://mg.co.za/thought-leader/opinion/2026-01-30-gauteng-n…

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Claim 9: “LGE2016 marked the tangible onset of new coalition politics in South Africa, beyond the foundational post-1994 arrangements.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources (Critical Reflections on Coalition Governments and Future Realities of Coalition Governments) describe the 2016 local government elections as a 'significant milestone' and a 'marked change in patterns of voting' regarding the constitution of local government.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The flag of South Africa from 1928 to 1994 was the flag of the Union of South Africa from 1928 to 1961 and later the flag of the Republic of South Africa until 1994. It was also the flag for South Wes…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_South_Africa_(1928–199…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — White South Africans are South Africans of European descent. In linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, they are generally divided into the Afrikaans-speaking descendants of the Dutch East India C…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_South_Africans

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 10: “Hantam and Karoo Hoogland illustrate this model [reciprocal coalitions]... It was a relatively stable arrangement between the ANC and PA.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found after searching for reciprocal coalitions between the ANC and PA in Hantam and Karoo Hoogland.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.