LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS
Prof. Bheki Mngomezulu|Published 6 minutes ago
Prof. Bheki Mngomezulu
As the country prepares for the much-anticipated 2026 Local Government Election (LGE), the swords are out in the battle for the soul of South Africa’s economic hub, Johannesburg. The past few weeks witnessed several developments.
History was made when Loyiso Masuku emerged as the first woman to be elected chairperson of the Johannesburg ANC region. She beat her rival and incumbent Mayor Dada Morero in a divisive contest for the top post.
This internal ANC contest could have an impact on Johannesburg’s mayoral position. Following recent service delivery challenges which engulfed Johannesburg, soon after this election, calls were made for Masuku to replace Morero as the new mayor, even before the 2026 LGE.
Worried about the possible impact of these results on the anticipated ANC elective conference in 2027, given the factions or slates in the party, the ANC’s national office, especially the office of the party’s Secretary-General (SG), quickly responded to allegations of irregularities in these elections.
While there was nothing sinister about the SG acting on this matter, what was concerning, though, was that he resorted to unconventional ways of addressing such concerns. Instead of following ANC protocol, ANC SG Fikile Mbalula involved the South African Police Service (SAPS) in tracking the ballots used in the election.
His frantic action exposed the party’s weakness and fear of losing control of the City of Johannesburg. It also demonstrated the fear of some ANC leaders about losing support at the 2027 conference.
As things stand, Morero’s position is uncertain. Importantly, the ANC’s continued leadership of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality is not guaranteed.
The events outlined above have created fertile ground for other political parties to join the race for the mayoral position of Johannesburg. The DA was the first party to announce its candidate, Helen Zille. The party premised its decision on two factors.
Firstly, it argued that during its term, Johannesburg was thriving but has significantly regressed since the ANC took over.
Secondly, the DA used the city of Cape Town and Umngeni Local Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal as examples of how the party governs better than the ANC. Based on these reasons, the DA told the people of Johannesburg that it was in their hands to save their city by voting for the DA in the upcoming LGE.
Not to be outshone, ActionSA joined the race by announcing its leader, Herman Mashaba, as the mayoral candidate. Like the DA, Mashaba invoked his previous role in the position of Mayor of Johannesburg. He claimed that under his leadership, the city was in a better condition than it is under the ANC’s Morero. He promised that, given a chance, he and his party would take Johannesburg back to its former glory.
This development meant that the ANC will now fight battles on three fronts.
Firstly, it will fight its own internal factional battles.
Secondly, it will be forced to strategise against its coalition partner, the DA.
Thirdly, it must also find ways to try and neutralise ActionSA.
To add more trouble for the ANC, Patriotic Alliance (PA) announced its Deputy President, Kenny Kunene, who is the current mayoral committee member responsible for transport, as its mayoral candidate.
After accepting the nomination, Kunene was unfazed by Zille and Mashaba. He told the people of Johannesburg, “I am the man for the job. I am the man to be the mayor of Johannesburg. I’m very decisive, and I understand that you need to deal with the costs of the problem, not the effects of the problem.”
These nominations raise several questions. Regarding Zille, what did the DA do for Johannesburg when it led this metro more than once? Why did it lose its mayoral position? What has changed now that would make her party do things differently?
Assuming that Zille was the Chairperson of the DA’s Federal Council and not the mayor of Johannesburg, can she dissociate herself from the DA leaders who held the mayoral positions – including Herman Mashaba and Dr Mpho Phalatse? If they failed, was it them as individuals who failed, or can their failure be attributed to the party, the DA? If the latter is the case, what would be the basis for believing that the DA would be able to ignite life in this metro?
When it comes to Mashaba, having served under the DA, has he managed to shed the DA tag? Was he a perfect mayor during his tenure? If not, what new skills has he amassed to enable him to lead better this time if he were to win the race?
As for Kunene, where does he derive his confidence from, as displayed during his public statements? Given that he serves in the mayoral committee led by Morero, does that boost or reduce his prospects for success?
Another issue worth considering is how the history of the three candidates mentioned above could pave the way for other political parties, such as the MKP and the EFF. The IFP is part of the coalition government and therefore cannot be detached from the ANC, which is currently running the city.
As the DA, ActionSA and PA decampaign and cancel each other out, this might give advantage to the MKP and the EFF. These two parties could argue that they are not part of the coalition government at the national and provincial levels. As such, they would promise the people of Johannesburg a fresh start.
The events outlined above increase the prospects of Johannesburg entering a new phase in its history. This new era could take different forms. If Loyiso Masuku could be the ANC’s mayoral candidate, some might give her a chance, thereby retaining the ANC as the leader of Johannesburg.
If Zille wins, the DA’s wish would be fulfilled. Should this happen, the DA would ensure that it does not lose Johannesburg again. This is what it did when the ANC handed the Western Cape Province to the DA on a silver platter due to friction between Ebrahim Rasool and Mcebisi Skwatsha.
* Prof. Bheki Mngomezulu is Director of the Centre for the Advancement of Non-Racialism and Democracy at Nelson Mandela University.
** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.
