Mashaba's hardline deportation demand for 2026 power sharing

ActionSA's coalition ultimatum forces immigration issue to the table

- By Queenin Masuabi

Undocumented foreigners are not welcome in South Africa and must be deported, says ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba./ ActionSA

(ActionSA)

Herman Mashaba has declared that any party refusing to support the mass deportation of undocumented foreigners will be excluded from coalition governments with ActionSA, a “nonnegotiable” ultimatum that immediately shapes the landscape for the pivotal 2026 local elections.

The demand, which Mashaba insists is a red line for entering coalition talks, functions as a political veto.

It is designed to force rivals like the DA and ANC into an impossible choice: endorse a hardline immigration stance that contradicts their own policies and the constitution, or risk being shut out of power in South Africa’s economic heartland, where ActionSA is poised to be a kingmaker.

"If you believe that illegal foreigners should not be taken back to their countries, do not talk to us. It is completely unacceptable," Mashaba told Sunday World, coupling the immigration stance with an anti-corruption pledge.

The move marks a sharp pivot from Mashaba’s previous alliance in the failed Multi-Party Charter (MPC) and signals his bet that public fury over illegal immigration is the key to unlocking outright majorities or dominant kingmaker status.

The announcement was immediately condemned by rivals, with a DA insider calling it “a recipe for gridlock that will punish voters”, and the ANC accusing him of “xenophobic electioneering”.