DA's Pappas says early indications point to a coalition in KZN
Early figures put former president Jacob Zuma’s new uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party in the lead on the provincial ballot, with the majority of the remainder split between the ANC, the IFP and the DA.
The Democratic Alliance’s (DA) KwaZulu-Natal Rescue South Africa tour campaign at the Currie Stadium in Durban on 11 May 2024. Picture: Xanderleigh Dookey Makhaza/Eyewitness News
DURBAN - As the election results continue to trickle in, the Democratic Alliance (DA)’s KwaZulu-Natal(KZN) Premier candidate, Chris Pappas, believes the province looks headed for a coalition now more than ever.
This with early figures putting former president Jacob Zuma’s new uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party in the lead on the provincial ballot, with around 42% of the votes counted so far, and the majority of the remainder split between the African National Congress (ANC) the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the DA.
On Thursday morning, the DA was lagging a bit behind the rest of the major players here in KwaZulu-Natal, with 16 885 votes on the provincial ballot by that point, compared to MK which had 56 246, the ANC which had 27 602 and the IFP which had 23 100.
Pappas highlighted that it was still early days with only 7% of the province's votes having been counted and the majority being from the smaller voting stations in greater KwaZulu-Natal, while the results in the bigger hubs like eThekwini were yet to start coming in.
Pappas, who said the long queues were a sign of a huge turnout on Wednesday saud early results were pointing towards a coalition government for the province.
"But what is also unpredictable and which is exciting or nerve wracking is the coalition we anticipated in this particular province. We said no-one would get 50% and I think it’s clear from the results we’re seeing now coming in and bellwether stations around the province that that’s where we’re going.
Whether this will be the case, ultimately though, remains to be seen.