"The IFP as a party has very deep roots in Ulundi... and we as a party would love Ulundi to be the capital. But we believe that if there is going to be a change (in the location of the capital) everybody in the province must decide through a referendum," IFP MPL Kamal Panday said.
Earlier in the day the provincial African National Congress said it welcomed a change by the IFP on the issue.
This followed Panday telling a radio station on Wednesday night that the capital was not an issue for the IFP during its election campaign.
Panday said yesterday there were much greater issues his party was looking at in its election campaign such as HIV/Aids, unemployment and crime.
The IFP believed that the issue of the capital should be addressed after the election.
After the first democratic election in 1994, the Cadman Commission was set up to decide where the capital should be located as there was support in the province for Ulundi, the IFP's traditional stronghold, and Pietermaritzburg.
The commission recommended that the legislature should be alternated between the two, and if this was to change, a referendum should be held for the citizens of the province to decide where they wanted the capital.
"In 1994 the IFP had 41 of the 80 seats (in the legislature).
That meant we had 51%(in the legislature) and could have ignored what the commission decided, but we did not," Panday said.
However in May 2002, Pietermaritzburg became the sole seat of the legislature.
This was after a resolution was passed in favour of Pietermaritzburg by a multi-party committee.
It did not have the support of the IFP who staged a walkout before the vote in the legislature.
Relations between the IFP and ANC, which both ruled KwaZulu-Natal through a coalition government at the time, became more strained.
The IFP has since formed a "coalition for change" with the Democratic Alliance and all three parties now have MECs in the province.
Panday said that no matter which political party took the reins of the province after the election, a referendum would be the best way to decide on the capital.
ANC provincial spokesperson Mtholephi Mthimkhulu said his party viewed the "shift" as a clear indication that the IFP was accepting defeat even before the poll on April 14. – Sapa.
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