The African Muslim Party (AMP) is no longer part of the of city's government after one of its members, with the approval of his party leadership, was found to have engaged in "secret talks" with the African National Congress (ANC), mayor Helen Zille said.
The AMP has three seats on the council, which means that should it join a coalition with the ANC and the Independent Democrats (ID), it will outnumber the remainder of the DA-led coalition.
The DA's coalition now has 103 seats, while the ANC, ID and AMP together have 106 seats. The Pan African Congress has one seat on the 210-member council.
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According to Zille, Chaaban had demanded that councillors from the city's coalition parties support him in his bid to become deputy mayor, threatening that his party would pull out of the coalition should he not get the necessary support.
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"We will not be blackmailed to stay in power," she (Helen Zille) said.
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