Herman Mashaba Says Coalition Partners Must Earn His Trust After Election Gains

Herman Mashaba says ActionSA performed far better than he and his party had expected, telling an interviewer that the party had passed one million votes by Friday afternoon. He also rejected the idea that the result was surprising, arguing that the party’s handling of a toxic tap-water scandal in Tshwane had not damaged its standing. Mashaba credited Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya with taking responsibility for the issue. In his view, rival parties made a mistake by turning it into a political fight, while Moya’s response showed voters something he said they were not used to seeing from politicians: accountability. He also defended ActionSA’s previous involvement in a coalition with the ANC in Johannesburg, saying that leaving the arrangement helped him politically once he concluded the ANC was not acting appropriately. On the party’s association with the March and March anti-illegal immigration campaign, Mashaba said immigration was one part of ActionSA’s broader platform, although he acknowledged that the connection kept him in the media spotlight. The conversation turned to possible coalition deals in Tshwane, Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni. Mashaba said his team was considering different scenarios, including sitting in opposition, and insisted ActionSA was not ruling out any party. But he criticised what he described as pressure to align with the DA, citing concerns about dishonesty, arrogance and backstabbing. Asked whether voters would punish him for refusing a DA partnership, Mashaba said they would object if he entered a coalition for the wrong reasons. He recalled that supporters had reacted badly to his earlier involvement in a DA-led pact, and referred to a court case brought by the DA before the election as part of the public record behind his concerns. The interview ended before he fully explained what he meant by the DA’s alleged “atomic bombs” against ActionSA.