Marius Roodt, Deputy Editor of The Common Sense, sits down with Gabriel Makin and discusses whether the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) can sweep all the municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal in the 2026 local government elections (LGE).

Marius gives Gabriel the stats: in 2024, the MKP was the biggest party in 35 of KwaZulu-Natal’s 44 municipalities and won more than 50% in 14. The Inkatha Freedom Party led in seven and the African National Congress in two. In Mpumalanga, the MKP came first in two municipalities and second in seven.

The question is whether the MKP can replicate that performance in the LGE. The party is polling at slightly below what it got in the 2024 election, both nationally and in eThekwini, but the MKP is still likely to do well in the LGE. In eThekwini, an MKP-led coalition and a coalition excluding the MKP are both possible.