Johannesburg Elects New Mayor for 10th Time Since 2016

The African National Congress (ANC), South Africa’s largest political party, has regained control of the mayorship of Johannesburg, marking the tenth time the position has changed hands since 2016. Dada Morero, who briefly served as mayor in 2022 for just 25 days, was elected again by 189 out of 259 council members during a session on Friday.
Morero replaces Kabelo Gwamanda of the Al-Jama-ah party, which holds only three seats in the council. Gwamanda’s appointment had been supported by the ANC but proved short-lived amid the city’s ongoing political turmoil.
Johannesburg, with a population of about 5 million, has experienced significant political instability since the 2016 municipal elections failed to produce a decisive winner. This instability has adversely affected city services, leading to frequent electricity blackouts, water shortages, and poorly maintained infrastructure, including neglected potholes.
In a notable development, ActionSA, a smaller opposition party led by Herman Mashaba, a former Johannesburg mayor, supported Morero’s reappointment in exchange for being allocated the speaker’s position on the council. This agreement could influence similar power-sharing arrangements in other urban centers where the ANC has formed coalitions with smaller parties.
The ANC’s recent loss of an outright parliamentary majority in the May 29 elections forced it into a national coalition with the Democratic Alliance (DA) and eight other smaller parties. However, negotiations for a power-sharing deal in the central Gauteng province, including Johannesburg, fell through, exacerbating the city’s governance challenges.
As Johannesburg navigates this latest phase of leadership, the city’s residents and stakeholders are watching closely to see if the new mayor can address the pressing issues that have plagued the city and restore stability to its administration.