ActionSA has succumbed to the outcry from its supporters and says it will not hold coalition talks with the African National Congress (ANC).

The party conducted a survey involving about 30 000 participants, following the collapse of the multi-party government in Johannesburg in September.

The overwhelming majority of respondents did not favour a coalition with the ANC.

ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont said: "The ANC got a score of -32% of the favourability index. ActionSA's senate has resolved that there will be no talks with the ANC regarding coalitions."

"And there can be no arrangement where an ANC government exists because of ActionSA, or an ANC government is kept in power because of ActionSA. South Africans were clear that ActionSA must provide an alternative, and there can be no co-governance with the ANC."

Instead, the party's supporters favoured coalition partnerships with the Inkatha Freedom Party, United Democratic Movement, African Christian Democratic Party and Freedom Front Plus.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) polled fifth, a decrease from a similar poll the party conducted ahead of the municipal elections in 2021.

"The ActionSA senate met last night to discuss the public engagement phase of our review of multiparty coalitions. Sixty-one percent of respondents were unhappy with how coalitions were being handled and did not feel that coalitions delivered effectively for them. Eighty-four percent of respondents still want ActionSA to enter coalitions because they see coalitions as the future. ActionSA president Herman Mashaba has written to the DA about co-governance concerns, and power sharing is prioritised and placed on the agenda," Beaumont said.

In Johannesburg in September, the removal of former mayor Mpho Phalatse and intense debate among coalition partners, mainly the DA and ActionSA, showed cracks in the coalition government arrangement. 

The DA and ActionSA also fought about the candidate for the speaker position in the Johannesburg council.

The failure of coalition partners to reach a compromise prompted a key ally, the Patriotic Alliance, to switch sides, ensuring that an ANC-supported bloc in the council won the speaker and mayoral positions. 

ActionSA indicated that it would engage with all political parties in Gauteng, including the ANC, on how best to stabilise coalition governments.

The ANC's inclusion may have surprised many people because, ahead of the municipal elections, ActionSA branded itself as an alternative to the ANC.

The party's leader, Herman Mashaba, repeatedly emphasised the need to remove the ANC from power in campaign messaging.