PRETORIA, Sunday 27 September 2026 — Freedom Front Plus leader Corné Mulder has identified a coalition with the Democratic Alliance as his party’s preferred option for governing Tshwane after the 4 November local government elections, while calling on the DA to rule out bringing the ANC into a post-election administration.
Mulder said the FF Plus would prefer the two parties to govern the capital together if the election produces sufficient council support for such an arrangement.
The position provides one of the clearest indications yet of how a party contesting Tshwane is approaching possible coalition negotiations before voting begins.
The metro has experienced successive coalition governments since the ANC lost its outright majority in 2016.
FF Plus asks DA to clarify coalition position
Mulder told the Sunday Times that he had specifically challenged the DA to state publicly that it would not enter a Tshwane coalition with the ANC.
He said voters should know the parties’ intentions before casting their ballots.
The FF Plus leader said he had instructed his party not to campaign against the DA, despite the two parties competing for some of the same voters.
Mulder said the FF Plus would defend itself if attacked but did not intend to distribute campaign material targeting the DA.
The two parties have previously governed together in Tshwane and several Western Cape municipalities.
Their relationship has nevertheless included disputes over coalition management in some councils.
Tshwane among country’s major coalition battlegrounds
Tshwane has been governed without a single-party majority since the 2016 municipal elections.
The DA took control of the metro after that election through opposition cooperation, ending the ANC’s control of the capital.
The council has subsequently experienced changes in political leadership and repeated coalition disputes.
DA mayor Cilliers Brink was removed through a motion of no confidence in September 2024.
ActionSA’s Nasiphi Moya was subsequently elected mayor with support from a coalition that included the ANC and EFF.
Brink is returning as the DA’s mayoral candidate for the November election, while Moya is ActionSA’s candidate.
The EFF has selected Omphile Maotwe as its candidate, while the MK Party has nominated Nkele Annie Matime.
FF Plus rules out some coalition partners
Mulder has also said the FF Plus would not enter coalitions with the EFF or MK Party because of policy and ideological differences.
That position narrows the party’s potential coalition options if no party secures a majority in Tshwane.
The FF Plus has not ruled out every form of cooperation involving the ANC nationally or in municipalities, but Mulder said its preferred arrangement in Tshwane was specifically with the DA.
He also criticised the functioning of the national Government of National Unity, of which both the DA and FF Plus are members.
Mulder said GNU party leaders had not met since November 2025 despite an earlier agreement to hold regular meetings.
The FF Plus has not withdrawn from the GNU.
DA and FF Plus have history of municipal cooperation
The two parties have extensive experience governing together at municipal level.
Mulder said the DA and FF Plus entered coalition arrangements in 11 Western Cape municipalities following the 2021 local government elections.
Several of those arrangements remain in place, including in Mossel Bay, Saldanha Bay and Cape Agulhas.
The relationship has not always been stable.
Mulder cited Oudtshoorn as an example of a coalition that broke down after disagreements between the parties over council decisions and cooperation with the ANC.
The FF Plus has also returned to coalition government with the DA in George after an earlier DA arrangement with Good ended.
Coalition intentions move into election campaign
Coalition negotiations have become an increasingly important part of municipal politics as fewer councils are controlled by single parties.
The 2026 election will determine the composition of Tshwane’s next council before parties can formally negotiate an administration.
Mulder’s comments establish the FF Plus’s preferred starting point before those negotiations.
The DA has not publicly committed in the reporting reviewed to the undertaking sought by Mulder that it will exclude the ANC from a Tshwane coalition.
The composition of the council after 4 November will ultimately determine which combinations of parties have enough seats to form an administration.
Until then, the FF Plus’s declaration places potential coalition arrangements directly into the Tshwane election campaign alongside the contest between the parties’ mayoral candidates.
