Johannesburg – Mpho Phalatse has been elected as the new mayor of the City of Johannesburg, completing a great day in the office for the DA.
Phalatse edged ANC’s Mpho Moerane for the coveted mayoral chain of Africa’s economic hub.
Phalatse received 144 votes while Moerane got the nod from 121 councilors. Phalatse is a qualified medical doctor.
She is also a Certified Independent Medical Examiner (CIME) with the American Board of Independent Medical Examiners (ABIME). She becomes the city’s first female mayor.
The win by the DA in the City of Gold completed a brace for the party after earlier causing an upset in the country manufacturing hub of Ekurhuleni where Mzwandile Masina was ousted as the mayor by Tania Campbell.
The DA’s Vasco da Gama was elected speaker of the City of Johannesburg with 147 votes against the 118 votes that went to ANC candidate Eunice Mgcina earlier in the day. This is da Gama’s second stint as speaker.
In the City of Ekurhuleni, the DA’s Raymond Dhlamini was elected speaker 116 votes – the ANC candidate Dorothy Mlambo fell short, garnering just 104 votes
The voting patterns in the two cities show that the EFF and Action SA put their lot with the DA.
The ANC suffered major losses in the two cities in this year’s local government polls. Having amassed 49% of the votes in 2016 in Ekurhuleni, the ANC could only get 38.19% this time around. The DA’s support also decreased in the metro which house OR Tambo Internal Airport, losing 12 seats largely due to the emergence of Herman Mashaba’s Action SA.
In the City of Johannesburg, got 91 seats, a decline of 121 seats it got in 2016. The DA has 71, shedding off 33 seats from 2016 when it held 104.
The biggest winner in the City of Gold was ActionSA, with the party securing 44 seats.
Congratulations @mphophalatse1!
I wish you this best of luck. This is an unforgiving job.
You have the minority govt you didn't want, but I hope you can drop the DA arrogance at the door & engage the multi-party group in an honest & transparent way.
South Africa is watching.
— Herman Mashaba (@HermanMashaba) November 22, 2021
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