COALITIONS / COUNCIL ARITHMETIC
When numbers
meet power.
A governing majority is mathematics. A political agreement is something else entirely. Explore the possibilities without confusing the two.
2026 MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS ELECTIONSXSEAT CALCULATOR / NO COALITION FORECASTS
THE COALITION LABORATORY
Build a majority.
Enter official council seat totals, then select a combination of parties. The calculator shows whether their seats cross the threshold; it cannot predict an agreement.
NO SEATS ARE PREFILLED
PARTYSEATS WONINCLUDE IN COALITION
ANC
DA
MK
EFF
ActionSA
IFP
PA
FF+
Other
Only enter verified seat totals from the same council and election. Blank fields mean unknown, not zero. No seat counts are pre-filled.
THE RULE
One more than half.
For a council with N seats, the smallest outright majority is floor(N ÷ 2) + 1. For instance, 100 seats require 51 and 101 seats also require 51.
Arithmetic is not an alliance. Councillor vacancies, independent candidates and relevant procedural rules may affect real decisions. This tool does not rank parties or recommend alliances.