By Simo Nare
The DA emerged as the early leader in the hotly contested City of Johannesburg on Thursday, securing 40.71% of the vote, well ahead of the ANC and ActionSA, according to provisional election results available at 10am.
The ANC was in second place with 17.10%, followed by ActionSA on 15.41% and the EFF on 6.37%, as counting continued following Wednesday’s local government elections.
Although it is still early and with a long way to go, DA mayoral candidate Helen Zille has a commanding lead while former Joburg mayor Herman Mashaba is trailing a bit far behind.
No majority winner has been predicted in Joburg by several polls so far and with the picture on the dashboard likely to change in the coming days, it remains to be seen which political parties will form a coalition government.
The Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa on Thursday that it will officially announce the results on Sunday, 8 November.
The City of Johannesburg is one of South Africa’s most politically contested metros, with a population of 4,803,262 and 270 municipal council seats being contested in the elections.
Johannesburg has an overall budget of R97.1 billion, including a capital budget of R8.8 billion, but it has experienced significant political instability over the past decade, largely because of fragile coalition governments.
The city entered the 2021–2026 council term without any party securing an outright majority. The DA initially formed an administration under Mpho Phalatse, with the support of several smaller parties, before successive changes in political leadership brought ANC-backed administrations into office.
Current executive mayor Dada Morero took office in August 2024, leading an ANC-centred coalition arrangement that has involved support from parties including ActionSA, the Economic Freedom Fighters, Patriotic Alliance, Inkatha Freedom Party, African Independent Congress and Al Jama-ah.
The city’s reported combined infrastructure requirements exceed R220 billion, while non-revenue water accounts for about 45% of its water supply.
City Power’s electricity distribution losses stand at approximately 27%, while the municipality’s revenue collection rate has declined from 88.6% to about 86%.
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