South Africa’s political parties are under no obligation to conclude coalition agreements within 14 days of Wednesday’s local government elections. In fact, there is no legal requirement for parties to form coalitions at all.

The confusion arises from a rule requiring newly elected municipal councils to hold their first meeting within 14 days of being declared elected.

That deadline applies to the council meeting, not to the formation of a coalition government.

Nor does the party that wins the most votes have the first opportunity to form a government. All parties have the same legal standing when councillors meet to elect municipal leaders.

With official election results expected tomorrow evening, newly elected councils will have 14 days to convene their first meeting.

At that meeting, councillors elect a speaker and can proceed to elect a mayor.

If more than one candidate is nominated, councillors vote by secret ballot.

For a vote to take place, more than half of all councillors must be present. In a council with 100 seats, at least 51 councillors must attend.

However, a mayor does not need the support of a majority of all councillors to be elected. The winning candidate needs only a majority of votes cast.

For example, if 60 councillors attend and all cast valid votes, a mayor can be elected with 31 votes, even though the council has 100 seats.

If no candidate wins a majority, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and voting continues.

This means a mayor can be elected without a formal coalition agreement between political parties.

Parties can support a mayoral candidate without agreeing to govern together. They can also abstain from voting or reach informal arrangements to elect a mayor.

Once elected, an executive mayor appoints a mayoral committee, which functions much like a municipal cabinet.

However, electing a mayor and running a municipality are two different things.

A municipal budget requires the support of a majority of all councillors. In a 100-seat council, that means at least 51 votes.

A mayor elected with fewer votes could therefore struggle to pass a budget without securing additional support.

Mayors can also subsequently be removed through votes of no confidence, allowing municipal governments to change without another election.

The important point is that there is no 14-day deadline to conclude coalition negotiations, no requirement for a formal coalition agreement, and no automatic right for the largest party to govern.

The 14-day deadline simply requires the newly elected council to meet.