What could happen in local councils with a 1% representation threshold?

It’s no secret that governance in the metro municipalities has been unstable since the 2021 election. Five of the eight metros have coalition governments. These coalitions have been unstable and service delivery has suffered as a result.

In an attempt to stabilise local councils, the DA has introduced draft legislation that would exclude any parties that received less than 1% of the total vote in 2021. Thresholds are fairly common in many European countries with coalition governments.

The Flourish Story below summarises two different scenarios; one with a 1% threshold and another with a 2% threshold. Large parties, particularly the ANC and DA, would benefit from a threshold while small parties would disappear.