Analyst says no party can win Johannesburg alone
Helen Zille’s enthusiastic reception by the DA faithful in Soweto over the weekend shows people in Johannesburg are fed up with the collapse of service delivery, says DA member of the provincial legislature Mike Waters.
Zille confident of becoming mayor
“More and more people realise that if they want their cities to be saved, whether Johannesburg, Tshwane or Ekurhuleni, the only party that can offer that change and save their cities is the DA.
“It bodes well for the DA in the 2026 local government elections across the province. With Helen leading the fight in Johannesburg to save the city, the DA can only go from strength to strength. We are overwhelmed by the response.”
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The stage is set for a fight with blood on the floor, with Zille confident of securing a victory while the ANC is working to stop her.
Zille said: “I have been to Soweto numerous times during this campaign. I have had warm and friendly receptions wherever I have been. The conversations I have had shows me that people are clued-up on political developments. And they know that if they want things to change for the better, they have to vote for a new city government.
“All the ingredients are in play for a DA win in Joburg.”
Joburg voters tempted to give DA a chance
With this move, the DA is attempting a second take on Joburg. In the 2016 local government elections, it achieved a milestone when the ANC lost power to a DA-led coalition with Herman Mashaba, now leader of ActionSA, becoming a DA mayor.
Zille, a political heavyweight and the party’s federal council chair, is determined to don the mayoral chain at the conclusion of the local government elections next year. She has a strong strategy to defeat the ANC and complete the party’s vision of controlling all major metros in the country.
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The fact that the DA ran successful and clean administrations in Cape Town City metro, the Western Cape provincial administration and the Midvaal municipality in Gauteng will tempt Joburg voters to give the party a chance.
Even President Cyril Ramaphosa recently advised ANC councillors to emulate DA counterparts in service delivery.
ANC strategising against Zille
But independent political analyst Khanyi Magubane said it won’t be a walk in the park for Zille as the ANC was strategising against her in Joburg.
“Helen running for the position of mayor in Joburg has shaken not only the ANC, but the political landscape as a whole in Joburg. Zille had a massive launch and she made massive promises of what she would deliver as a mayor,” Magubane said.
The fact that the ANC was also hoping to secure the city’s leadership with a clear majority has set the stage for drama.
“This complicates things for the ANC because Zille is very popular, particularly in light of the poor service delivery for the residents of Johannesburg. The breakdown of infrastructure has become a sore point for residents who will see Helen as a solution.
“This has caused her opponents to strategise stronger ways to counter Zille,” Magubane said.
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She said Zille could not win Joburg without the black vote, but that the DA’s internal squabble will not affect the city elections.
Sandile Swana, also an independent analyst, said Johannesburg was out of reach for the DA as no single party could win it alone. He said to get back into power in the city the DA has to solicit support from the ANC or the EFF and other parties.
But Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi and the uMkhonto weSizwe party will not allow a DA mayor in Joburg.
“Zille is not going to be Joburg mayor unless the influential ANC veterans convince the ANC to form a DA-ANC coalition,” Swana said.
But DA Ekurhuleni councillor Simon Lapping is bullish: “The tide seems to be turning and not just in Joburg. Helen’s incredible reception in Soweto has great implications for the rest of SA.”
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