Get It Off Your Chest

South Africans have cast their votes, but the real test of democracy starts now. As political parties negotiate coalitions, leadership positions and control of municipalities, the big question is whether these deals will deliver services to communities, or whether political interests will come before the needs of citizens.

Advocate Sipho Mantula joins the show. He is Deputy Head of the UNISA Election Observer Mission and a researcher at the Thabo Mbeki African School of Public and International Affairs at UNISA. In his article, South Africa Decides 2026: An Election Observer in Observation, he argues that democracy does not end at the ballot box and that accountability must continue long after elections. He unpacks what the coalition talks mean for local communities and what citizens should demand from those they have just elected.