He compared their new-found co-operation to a marriage.

Singh was speaking at a press conference at the party's offices in Parliament and said the three parties agreed on basic principles for local governance.

"It's like a marriage. Sometimes you go to counselling; sometimes you talk over issues," Singh said on Wednesday.

"As the three biggest opposition parties, the DA, IFP and EFF will not be driven by politics, but by good governance and a clean administration."

Singh, however, stressed that the party was not forming a coalition with the other two parties, and that each party will maintain its own identity.

'Voters don't want ANC'

He also said the party weighed the interests of its support base after doubling its votes in KwaZulu-Natal and said the results confirmed that people had rejected the leadership of the African National Congress in the province.

"Across South Africa, the electoral result speaks of a wider dissatisfaction with the governance of the ANC. It was not just an ANC/NFP coalition that voters rejected [in KZN], but also the dominance of the ANC.

"This is a significant victory, [one that] has restored the IFP as the official opposition in KZN," Singh added.

The MP also confirmed that the party had spoken with the ANC as well during coalition talks, but stated again that the election results showed voters in the province wanted change.

Meanwhile, the DA's James Selfe, who led negotiations for his party in Gauteng, said at a press conference in Rosebank that the DA would vote for IFP candidates in KwaZulu-Natal in exchange for support in Tshwane.

- News24.com