Johannesburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse DA ANC

Photo: Abongile Dumako / Twitter

Just in: DA mayor elected to lead Johannesburg, as ANC left crushed

Mpho Phalatse is the new Johannesburg Mayor, capping a sensational victory for the DA in Johannesburg. However, the ANC is now in freefall…

Johannesburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse DA ANC

Photo: Abongile Dumako / Twitter

It’s an evening the ANC will never want to relive: Within the space of a few hours, the ruling party’s grip on several key metros has been broken in dramatic fashion. The IFP ditched them in eThekwini, they were outfoxed in Ekurhuleni, and just moments ago, the 109-year-old institution lost the Johannesburg Mayor race to the DA.

DA WINS – but who is the new Johannesburg Mayor?

Mpho Phalatse will officially take charge of the sprawling metro, a little over two years after Herman Mashaba quit the post and the DA lost control of Joburg. Earlier this month, it seemed like the ANC would keep hold of the city… but it now looks like they have been blindsided by the work of the EFF and ActionSA.

Voting patterns in the election of House Speaker Vasco da Gama – also a DA representative – suggested that the Red Berets and Herman Mashaba’s party had secretly thrown their weight behind the Blues.

A bad, bad day for the ANC

In KZN, the ANC witnessed what they’re calling a ‘betrayal’ – after the IFP reneged on a voting agreement between the two groups. Allegedly upset that the ANC didn’t change their mayoral choice for eThekwini, the IFP shocked their counterparts by taking its support elsewhere, for candidates representing different parties.

As much as this has been a bruising day for the ANC, the DA must be thanking their lucky stars. They’ve managed to wrestle back control of Gauteng’s biggest metros – with Tshwane likely to follow on Tuesday. This will be the first time that the party has ruled all three of the province’s metropolitan districts.

Mpho Phalatse is the new Johannesburg Mayor!

The writing was on the wall for the ANC in Johannesburg when ActionSA decided against fielding Herman Mashaba as a mayoral candidate, leaving the DA and the ANC to duel it out head-to-head. Following the trends witnessed in the speaker’s vote, Mpho Phalatse was declared the predictable winner – ending a madcap day of political proceedings.

  • The DA has since admitted this show of support from elsewhere ‘came as a surprise’…