THE GATHERING 2026: Zille draws coalition red lines as DA targets Joburg majority

Helen Zille has ruled out coalitions with the EFF and MK party, arguing that ideological differences could undermine effective government as she campaigns for the outright majority she says the party needs to ‘rescue the city’.

The DA’s Johannesburg mayoral candidate, Helen Zille , has drawn a hard line against potential coalition partners, ruling out working with the EFF and uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party while warning that fragmented coalitions could leave Johannesburg unable to make the difficult decisions she says are needed to rescue the city.

Zille said the DA was campaigning for an outright majority in Johannesburg, arguing that governing the financially distressed metro through a coalition with small parties could give them disproportionate power over major decisions.

“We are in it to win it,” Zille said during a discussion at Daily Maverick’s The Gathering in Cape Town on Friday, 11 September, fewer than eight weeks before the 4 November local government elections.

The warning comes as Johannesburg heads towards the elections facing a deepening financial and service delivery crisis, with mounting municipal debt, collapsing infrastructure and dwindling revenue.

The Centre for Development and Enterprise has also previously warned that the City’s budget is becoming increasingly disconnected from the money it actually collects.

For Zille, the central challenge is not simply winning the election but having enough political power afterwards to govern.

Zille said the DA would not enter into a coalition with either the MK or EFF because of what she described as fundamental ideological differences.

“We won’t go into a coalition with MK, and we will not go into coalition with the EFF,” she said.

“Because our value set is too incompatible. You cannot govern with people who don’t share any of your ideology.”

Zille said her personal relationship with former president and MK party leader Jacob Zuma was very different from her political stance towards him.

Although she said she got on “really, really well” with the MK party leader and recalled that he had taught her how to dance, she ruled out governing with him.

“I could never ever go into a coalition with Jacob Zuma, but I could certainly dance with him,” she said.

Zille added that the DA could work with other parties depending on the election result but did not want to “hem” herself in before voters had cast their ballots.