DA's Zille says ANC has not played open cards with them in Gauteng Cabinet talks

JOHANNESBURG - Democratic Alliance (DA) federal chair, Helen Zille, said that the African National Congress (ANC) in Gauteng had failed to accept that it had lost power in the province.

Zille said this had resulted in the deadlock of their negotiations, with talks between the parties on the allocations of portfolios collapsing this week.

The ANC failed to secure a majority in the province during the recent national elections, securing 34% of the vote in Gauteng, while the DA came second with 27%.

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During a briefing on Tuesday night, the DA said it was not desperate to be in government and was willing to return to the opposition benches.

"They have not played open cards with us at all. They have offered three seats in a ten-member Cabinet that excludes the Premier. If you include the Premier, it brings it to 11. They want to give us three, claiming they want to bring other parties in. They wouldn’t tell us which parties."