The African National Congress (ANC) in KwaZulu-Natal has confirmed that it will hold coalition discussions with the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party as negotiations to form governments in the province's 34 hung municipalities get underway.
ANC provincial convener Mike Mabuyakhulu confirmed that communication had taken place between the two parties, adding that the ANC was engaging with all political parties to avoid excluding anyone from the coalition process.
Mabuyakhulu said the MK Party had requested a meeting with the ANC, which would take place as part of the ongoing discussions.
The MK Party emerged as a major force in the recent local government elections, securing outright majorities in three municipalities and emerging as the leading party in 19 others, including eThekwini.
The ANC, which lost significant support to the MK Party, managed to secure an outright majority in only one municipality and emerged as the leading party in three others.
This means the governing party will need support from other political parties to establish administrations in the affected municipalities.
Mabuyakhulu said the ANC was also guided by the principle that parties receiving the most votes should be represented in municipal executive committees.
Meanwhile, the MK Party in KwaZulu-Natal has indicated that it is open to coalition discussions with all parties except the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus).
ActionSA's KwaZulu-Natal leader, Zwakele Mncwago, said the party was also willing to engage with any political organisation that shared its interests.
Mncwago said discussions would cover the entire province, although eThekwini would feature prominently because of its status as a metropolitan municipality.