The Freedom Front Plus has fielded mayoral candidates across Gauteng’s three metros and eight other municipalities, setting up contests against some of the province’s most prominent political figures as parties prepare for the November 4 local government elections.
The party on Tuesday named Franco de Lange for Johannesburg, Willie Spies for Tshwane, and Jennifer Glover for Ekurhuleni. It also announced candidates for Emfuleni, Merafong, Mogale City, Rand West City, Lesedi, and Midvaal, as well as the Sedibeng and West Rand district municipalities.
The metro nominations put three experienced VF Plus figures into crowded races.
Parties field heavyweights
De Lange has represented the VF Plus in Johannesburg since 2009. He will face former Cape Town mayor and Western Cape premier Helen Zille for the DA, former Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba for ActionSA, EFF candidate Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, RISE Mzansi’s Lukhona Mnguni, and BOSA deputy leader Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster.
Mofokeng previously served as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health, while Mnguni is a governance and public-policy specialist. Hlazo-Webster is an MP and BOSA co-founder.
The Johannesburg field also includes Patriotic Alliance candidate Kenny Kunene and the IFP’s Mlungisi Mabaso. The ANC has yet to announce its final candidate after postponing the selection of its metro mayoral contenders to September.
In Tshwane, the VF Plus has selected Spies, an attorney and former MP who returned to elected politics last week when he was sworn in as a Tshwane councillor.
He faces a particularly experienced field. ActionSA is backing incumbent mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya, while the DA has nominated former mayor Cilliers Brink. The EFF has deployed its treasurer-general, Omphile Maotwe. RISE Mzansi and GOOD are backing current Tshwane economic development and spatial planning, with MMC Sarah Mabotsa, while BOSA has chosen its Tshwane regional leader, Martha Moshiga.
Tough battle for Ekurhuleni
In Ekurhuleni, Glover enters the race with direct council and executive experience. She currently chairs the metro’s oversight committee on health and social development and served as MMC for the same portfolio in 2022.
Her confirmed rivals include DA candidate Khathutshelo Rasilingwane, a Gauteng MPL; ActionSA’s Xolani Khumalo; EFF candidate Nthabiseng Tshivhenga; and BOSA’s Nongelo Chiume. Tshivhenga is a former Ekurhuleni council speaker, while Chiume is an arts administrator and former secretary-general of the South African Arts and Culture Youth Forum.
VF Plus Gauteng leader Jaco Mulder said the party would campaign on restoring basic services, financial discipline, and accountable government, while remaining open to coalition arrangements where no party wins outright.
Outside the metros, the VF Plus named Cobus Cato for Emfuleni, Ben van der Berg for Merafong, Amy Steyn for Mogale City, Fred Steffers for Rand West City, Mari Boshoff for Lesedi and Ockert Brits for Midvaal. Julio Agrella will contest Sedibeng District and Braam Reed the West Rand District.
The mayoral names are campaign candidates rather than directly elected positions. Voters elect councillors, who then elect mayors, making the balance of seats and post-election coalition negotiations decisive.
- The Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) has announced mayoral candidates for Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, and eight other municipalities ahead of the November 4 local government elections.
- VF Plus candidates include Franco de Lange for Johannesburg, Willie Spies for Tshwane, and Jennifer Glover for Ekurhuleni.
- The Johannesburg mayoral race features prominent candidates such as Helen Zille (DA), Herman Mashaba (ActionSA), Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng (EFF), and others.
- In Tshwane, VF Plus’s Willie Spies will compete against incumbent mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya (ActionSA), former mayor Cilliers Brink (DA), and other notable candidates.
- VF Plus campaigns on restoring basic services, financial discipline, and accountable government and is open to coalition arrangements where no party wins outright.
