COPE’s Murunwa Makwarela elected Tshwane Mayor

PHUTI MOSOMANE

COPE councillor Murunwa Makwarela has been elected City of Tshwane Mayor following Randall Williams’ resignation just over two weeks ago. 

A total of 213 councillors voted during the council meeting on Tuesday.

Makwarela received 112 votes, beating DA candidate, Cilliers Brink, who got 101 votes.

Makwarela, who was Tshwane Council Speaker and holds the party’s single seat in council, was nominated by African Transformation Movement (ATM), supported by African National Congress (ANC) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).

COPE is part of the DA-led coalition in hung metros in Gauteng.

There were no abstentions. The results mean the DA-led multiparty coalition has lost control.

Meanwhile, the multi-party coalition in the City of Tshwane expressed disappointment at the election of Makwarela as the Mayor of Tshwane.

“The multi-party coalition has held a majority since taking office in 2021 and continues to hold a majority of seats in council. As has