By Akani Nkuna
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli has called for political maturity and tolerance among political parties and communities ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections, urging parties to respect differing views, promote peaceful engagement and contribute to a stable electoral environment across the province.
Ntuli was speaking in his capacity as chair of a multiparty meeting at the Archie Gumede Conference Centre in eThekwini on Tuesday. Leaders from parties with a strong presence in the province, including the Inkatha Freedom Party, Democratic Alliance, MK Party, African National Congress and National Freedom Party, attended the meeting.
“After more than 30 years since the advent of democracy, we cannot allow any incidents of political intolerance. Such acts must be labelled and treated as acts of criminality. Law enforcement will not tolerate any lawlessness,” he said.
“This committee is here to promote fair competition and contestation as we are heading to the Local Government Elections in November. We encourage all political parties to use this platform to robustly engage and amicably resolve whatever issues that may arise during the campaign season and the actual elections.”
According to the Premier’s office, the committee seeks to promote political tolerance, maintain stability and encourage peaceful coexistence among political party leaders, members and supporters, particularly during the campaign and election periods.
The meeting comes as political violence has repeatedly intensified around local elections in KwaZulu-Natal, particularly during disputes over candidate selection and political control of municipalities.
In August, the KwaZulu-Natal government said at least 18 councillors had been assassinated in the province since the 2021 Local Government Elections, including five in eThekwini.
Earlier this month, the IFP called for the deployment of the KwaZulu-Natal Political Killing Task Team after two of its councillor candidates were killed in separate attacks within seven days.
Ntuli said democracy was demonstrated by the availability of different choices on the ballot paper and that political parties were instruments through which democracy was exercised.
“A democracy in which parties can disagree fiercely yet peacefully is a democracy that is alive. A democracy that silences its parties or allows them to be intimidated has begun to lose its soul,” Ntuli said.
“The elections belong to the people, but the integrity of the contest is the shared responsibility of every party, leader and institution.”
Ntuli said the committee had a responsibility to build trust and create space for differences to be resolved through dialogue rather than violence.
He said the committee would work with the Electoral Commission of South Africa to strengthen democracy and uphold its principles in the province.
Ntuli said political violence was criminality and those responsible were not advancing a political cause.
He warned against using political language to describe criminal acts, saying this could give them legitimacy they did not deserve.
Ntuli committed to continued engagement on political violence and killings beyond the elections, saying the provincial government wanted to eliminate the trend from political life and discourse in KwaZulu-Natal.
“The concerns of parties do not disappear once the results are declared. So we commit to engagement beyond elections as a standing practice and not a seasonal courtesy,” Ntuli said.
“We will meet, listen and consult, and we do so in times of calm as well as in times of tension because trust built in peaceful times is what protects us in difficult ones.”
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