ANC set to announce Johannesburg mayoral candidate

The African National Congress (ANC) is expected to announce its Johannesburg mayoral candidate on Saturday, 22 August, as political parties intensify their campaigns ahead of South Africa’s local government elections.

The elections are scheduled for 4 November, with Johannesburg expected to be one of the country’s most closely contested metropolitan municipalities.

The City of Johannesburg is currently governed by an ANC-led coalition, with Dada Morero serving as executive mayor.

WHO WILL BE THE ANC’S JOHANNESBURG MAYORAL CANDIDATE?

Morero currently occupies the mayoral chain in South Africa’s economic hub, but his tenure has been marked by political instability and continued criticism over service delivery challenges in the city.

The mayor has also survived several attempts to remove him through motions of no confidence.

Morero first became Johannesburg mayor in September 2022 after the ANC-led coalition removed then-DA mayor Mpho Phalatse through a motion of no confidence.

However, Morero’s initial election was subsequently declared unlawful by the Johannesburg High Court after the court found that the process which led to Phalatse’s removal was unlawful. The court reinstated Phalatse as mayor.

Phalatse was later removed again through another motion of no confidence, paving the way for Al Jama-ah councillor Thapelo Amad to become mayor in January 2023.

Amad resigned from the position in April 2023 and was replaced by Kabelo Gwamanda, also of Al Jama-ah, who served as mayor until his resignation later that year.

Morero returned to the mayoral office in June 2023 and has remained in the position.

His future as the ANC’s mayoral candidate has been a subject of speculation after he lost the ANC Greater Johannesburg regional chairperson position to Loyiso Masuku at the party’s elective conference in December 2025.

Masuku was subsequently nominated by the ANC’s Johannesburg regional executive committee as its preferred mayoral candidate. However, the nomination process did not follow the ANC’s national candidate-selection requirements, and the party launched a broader process to identify its mayoral candidate.

Recent reports have identified Reverend Frank Chikane as the frontrunner for the ANC’s Johannesburg mayoral candidacy following the party’s interviews with potential candidates.

MAYOR	TERM	PARTY
Herman Mashaba	2016 – 2019	DA
Geoffrey Makhubu	2019 – 2021	ANC
Jolidee Matongo	2021	ANC
Mpho Moerane	2021	ANC
Mpho Phalatse	2021 – 2022	DA
Dada Morero	2022	ANC
Thapelo Amad	2023	AL JAMA-AH
Kabelo Gwamanda	2023 – 2024	AL JAMA-AH

OTHER PARTIES NAME THEIR CANDIDATES

Meanwhile, several political parties have already announced their candidates as they prepare for what is expected to be a highly competitive Johannesburg mayoral race.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has selected Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, a medical doctor and former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health, as its mayoral candidate.

ActionSA has selected its president and former Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba to contest the position. Mashaba served as mayor from 2016 to 2019 while he was a member of the Democratic Alliance.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has chosen former Cape Town mayor and former Western Cape premier Helen Zille as its candidate.

Zille has made service delivery, infrastructure, water, electricity, billing and crime key issues in her campaign as she seeks to return to executive office in a major South African city.

The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) has also entered the Johannesburg mayoral race for the first time, selecting Mlungisi Mabaso as its candidate.

Mabaso currently serves as the IFP’s Johannesburg Human Settlements MMC and has campaigned on issues including housing, service delivery, youth development, safety and local economic development.

Other parties contesting the mayoral race include Rise Mzansi, which has named Lukhona Mnguni; Build One South Africa (BOSA), which has selected Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster; the Land Party, which has selected Ntsiki Mazwai; and Al Jama-ah, which has named Shireen Ebrahim.