The Democratic Alliance is sticking to its guns and says it will stand by Tshwane Mayor Solly Msimanga as its preferred candidate, as he has done "nothing wrong".
Msimanga faces a motion of no confidence in a Tshwane council sitting on Thursday.
"The EFF has said, give us another candidate. In what universe must we allow the EFF to dictate to us who should be the mayor of Tshwane? Come tomorrow's council meeting, we will not be fielding a different candidate. We stand behind Solly Msimanga," DA leader Mmusi Maimane said in a briefing at the party's Johannesburg headquarters on Wednesday.
Maimane said that, under Msimanga's leadership, Tshwane had moved from a deficit of R2bn to a surplus of R704m, which indicated that the DA was delivering in the metros.
"If the EFF says we must put forward another candidate, tell me what has Msimanga done wrong, so I can deal with the issue," he added.
Maimane said that the ANC and EFF were on a quest to remove Msimanga for "doing the right thing".
"The ANC-EFF coalition is a coalition of corruption. Just because Msimanga is investigating the city manager, that means he must be removed? It tells you, these are the people who cannot be trusted with the resources of the country," Maimane said.
This partnership, according to Maimane, was an attack on the will of people, and that the only people who would lose were the people.
"This is an assault on the will of the people, people who are sitting at home in Tshwane, Port Elizabeth and Johannesburg," he said.
'We are not going to be puppets'
At a media briefing on Tuesday, EFF leader Julius Malema referred to the DA as "arrogant" and asked the opposition party to humble itself. However, Maimane hit back, saying the EFF was the only party displaying arrogant behaviour.
"Arrogance is going to another party and telling them who their candidates should be. We are not going to be puppets," he said.
Despite unfolding events, which have left the future of DA-led metros in limbo, Maimane still insisted that coalition governments worked.
"Coalitions are the future of South Africa and I will always fight for them. They work. This notion that they are unstable is wrong," he said.
Should the motion of no confidence against Msimanga be successful on Thursday, it will be the second metropolitan city lost by DA. Athol Trollip was removed as Nelson Mandela Bay mayor on Monday, following a vote of no confidence that the DA has promised to challenge in court.
Thursday's sitting will not affect Msimanga's candidacy for the premier of Gauteng, as the DA has affirmed that it will stand behind him in this regard as well.