Geordin Hill-Lewis Opens the Door to Coalition Talks With Jacob Zuma’s MK Party

Geordin Hill-Lewis has formally invited Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) to discuss possible coalition arrangements, prompting a swift response from the party. The DA leader wrote to Zuma asking for a meeting, according to MKP national negotiator Dali Mpofu, who confirmed that the invitation had been accepted. Mpofu told SABC News that the parties could meet within 48 hours. He said the MKP secretary-general had replied to Hill-Lewis’s letter and agreed to the proposed discussions. Mpofu added that his party was willing to speak with political groups across the spectrum, despite its differences with the DA. The approach marks a striking shift in the tone between the two parties. The DA has previously rejected the prospect of negotiating or forming partnerships with the MKP and the Economic Freedom Fighters in key areas, including Johannesburg and KwaZulu-Natal. The parties’ contrasting political positions have also made cooperation seem unlikely. Asked whether they could find common ground, Mpofu suggested the political landscape had changed. He pointed to the DA’s former Moonshot Pact, which had been built around excluding the MKP and EFF from coalition discussions. In his view, the DA’s decision to reach out under its new leadership sends a message that the parties believe there may be some shared interests. Mpofu was careful not to suggest the talks would erase their differences. He said he did not expect the common ground between the DA and MKP to be as substantial as that between the MKP and EFF. Still, he said overlapping constituencies and shared municipal interests could provide an opening for cooperation. The meeting will test whether that possibility can translate into practical arrangements.