Helen Zille, the DA’s “Iron Lady”, has officially applied to be the party’s mayoral candidate for the City of Johannesburg metro, setting the scene for the country’s economic hub to be a crucial battleground in the 2026 local government elections.
Zille told the Sunday Times that, after being lobbied from both inside and outside the DA, she had decided to throw her hat into the ring to be considered as Joburg mayoral candidate on Friday — the party’s deadline for applications.
The move has rattled other parties, such as ActionSA, which this week indicated it was considering fielding Herman Mashaba, its leader, to be the city's mayor again, in response to the DA unleashing Zille as its electoral trump card.
Zille said the “depth of experience” she gained as a former mayor of Cape Town, a former premier of the Western Cape, and from other public service roles, including as an MP and MEC, put her in a strong position to be considered a suitable candidate for the Joburg mayorship.
The DA's federal council chair, who lives in Cape Town but also has a residence in the Joburg suburb of Emmarentia, indicated she was already “doing research to formulate a credible plan” to turn the City of Johannesburg around. The metro's myriad service delivery problems have been in the headlines for some time.
The DA has set strict qualifying criteria for the Joburg mayorship. Crucial requirements include a “positive public profile”, as well as “leadership or management experience in dealing with complex organisations and leading teams or successful entrepreneurship”.
The blue party’s federal executive resolved a fortnight ago to reopen applications for the Joburg mayoral candidacy, as it was dissatisfied with the calibre of applicants.
ActionSA national chair Michael Beaumont said this week that while the party had not had formal discussions about who should be fielded as Joburg mayor, Mashaba’s name had been brought up. He said it had become clear ActionSA would have to choose a strong candidate with a national footprint after the news that Zille may be vying for the position.
Zille has said that if she were elected, the smooth running of basic services such as water, electricity, roads, street lights, traffic lights and waste removal would command her attention
“There have been no discussions in ActionSA on this topic, but some people believe Herman Mashaba is the right person,” Beaumont said. “Herman Mashaba is the strongest candidate we have. He’s a person who respects Johannesburg, and he’s someone who has actually done the best out of all the mayors in the history of Johannesburg. There’s no debate about that.”
ActionSA would, however, have to discuss whether tying Mashaba to Joburg alone during the local government elections campaign would be a good idea, Beaumont added.
“The only consideration [would be] whether this was the right choice for the party, given that it would not be contesting only in Johannesburg. We would have to think carefully about the idea of tying our president down to one municipality, because we would obviously want to leverage that brand.
“Yes, it is certainly being discussed, particularly in the wake of the announcement by Helen Zille. People are turning around and saying, ‘You know, Joburg is going to be a battleground, so we need to consider putting forward our strongest soldier.’”
ANC leaders this week did not comment on whether the party would also consider fielding a leader with a national footprint in Johannesburg as a direct response to Zille and Mashaba being touted as contenders.
Given these developments, the party may also be forced to change its tradition of revealing its mayoral candidates only after the elections. But even on this issue the ANC was not available for comment.
However, the party will have a difficult time convincing its Joburg leaders that the person who wins the Johannesburg regional conference — which is likely to sit in August and where the incumbent Dada Morero will go head-to-head with Loyiso Masuku — should not be put up as a mayoral candidate.
Zille has said that if she were elected basic services such as water, electricity, roads, street lights, traffic lights and waste removal would command her attention.
She would have to vacate her full-time party position as DA federal council chair, where she is charged with managing the DA’s day-to-day affairs.
The DA was in charge of Johannesburg after the 2021 local government elections, until its mayor, Mpho Phalatse, was ousted in a motion of no confidence in 2023.
Since Phalatse's ousting, an ANC-led coalition has been running the city, which has seen a game of musical chairs played out as far as the mayoral seat is concerned. Morero is the third mayor to be elected in the ANC-led coalition. Before him, the mayoral chain was worn by Al Jama-ah’s Thapelo Amad, and later by Kabelo Gwamanda, who was removed from office after he was arrested on fraud charges.
In recent years, the city has faced persistent and serious service delivery challenges, leading to President Cyril Ramaphosa putting in place a presidential working group in a bid to turn around its ailing service delivery systems.
This intervention is similar to the one Ramaphosa made in eThekwini, where he installed senior ANC leader Cyril Xaba as mayor. In Johannesburg, however, no mayoral changes were made.
Ramaphosa put the Joburg intervention in place in the hopes of turning the city around before the G20 summit in the city in November, which will be attended by several heads of state.
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