The DA will never work with the EFF or MK

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has drawn a line in the sand about possible coalition partners after the next local government elections.

The party indicated that it would be “impossible” to work with Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and Jacob Zuma’s Umkhonto we Sizwe Party (MKP).

Speaking to Newsday, chairperson of the DA’s Federal Council and the party’s candidate for mayor of Johannesburg, Helen Zille, unpacked possible coalition partners after the next municipal elections.

Asked whether the party has already ruled out parties for pairings, Zille said that “you’ve got to have some measure of ideological concurrence between parties in a coalition to make it work.”

Like the reasons given for the preconditions of the GNU, Zille called it impossible to work with a party “that expressly says that they’re against the constitution.”

“They are not democratic. The leader must have all the power, and they believe in a system of empowerment that empowers the wealthy and the connected elite.”

“We can’t work with those kinds of parties, and that means it’s almost impossible for us to work with, for example, the EFF and MKP because there’s no ideological concurrence with us.”

Asked what separated the DA from the EFF and MKP, Zille said that her party believes in accountable, transparent, and service-oriented government. “We’re dead against corruption and power abuse.”

Pressed on possible partners, Zille said coalition decisions can only be made after elections, once seat allocations are known and parties can see which combinations reach a 50% majority.

She described coalitions as “never good” – only the “least bad” option when no party wins outright.

For that reason, she said, the DA is pushing hard for a majority, which would allow it to govern decisively, focus on fixing the city, and avoid the constant instability and “politics of extortion” that come with fragile coalitions.

The DA and EFF’s working history

The EFF and MKP stayed away from the GNU talks and went to the opposition benches, where they built a “progressive caucus” that holds 30 percent of the National Assembly seats.

They refused to participate in a GNU that included the DA, which they call “the enemy.”

The feeling is mutual: the DA has long characterised the EFF as “public enemy number one” and called a coalition among the ANC, MKP, and EFF a “doomsday scenario.” 

Zille recalled that when the DA took control of Johannesburg in 2016 under then-mayor Herman Mashaba, the party was dependent on the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) for support.

She explained that the DA and its coalition partners did not have enough votes to surpass 50% of the council seats, forcing them to rely on the EFF to form a government.

Zille said she was “deeply opposed” to that arrangement and even confronted the issue in the DA’s Federal Executive

According to Zille, the dependency on the EFF meant that Mashaba “had to dance to the EFF’s tune” to remain in office.

She said that once the EFF had helped put the DA in power, it demanded “its pound of flesh again and again.”

Zille argued that the EFF was not interested in holding formal government positions, but in influencing the administration and controlling tenders.

“They were able to use their lever of the balance of power in the council and the threat of withdrawal of their support to bring the government down,” she said.

She added that the EFF used its power to push for key appointments in the city administration, and that Mashaba “did their bidding in terms of key positions in the council.”

“That’s why we called him the EFF mayor at that time,” Zille said.

“Julius Malema was making all kinds of demands in return for their continued support, and Herman was acceding to them.”

“That is just a function of not getting enough votes. If we’d had enough votes to get over the line without the EFF, I think things would have turned out very differently.”

Mashaba, however, has fiercely denied working closely with the EFF.

“During my term as Mayor of Johannesburg, Zille and the Democratic Alliance wanted me to service suburban areas and cut grass in Sandton, neglecting our poor and forgotten communities, calling me an EFF mayor,” he claimed.

Zille has denied these claims.

EFF response

EFF Gauteng caucus leader Philip Makwala recently said the DA has shown “consistent hostility” toward the EFF, citing several examples.

“Over time, the DA has gone out of its way to demonise our organisation, using language that is inflammatory and inconsistent with mutual respect between political parties in a democratic dispensation,” he said.

“On April 2, 2023, DA leader John Steenhuisen publicly declared the EFF as ‘enemy number one of the DA,” Makwala said.

On July 30, 2023, he referred to the EFF and its leadership as ‘dangerous demagogues.’ On April 5, 2024, he warned of a ‘doomsday coalition’ if the EFF came into government.

Makwala added that on May 22, 2025, during a visit to the United States, Steenhuisen said the DA had “joined hands with the ANC to keep the EFF out of power.”

He also referenced a July 17, 2024, DA statement following the formation of the GNU with the ANC, which asserted the DA’s participation was intended to “prevent the EFF and MK from ever getting their hands on the levers of executive power.”