South Africa’s Democratic Alliance said on Saturday former leader Helen Zille would be its next candidate for mayor of Johannesburg, as the party seeks to win back control of the country’s biggest city in next year’s local government election.
The 74-year-old was widely regarded as the main architect of the party’s political strategy in last year’s national election, in which the ruling African National Congress lost its majority for the first time, forcing it to share power with second-placed DA and a host of smaller parties.
With Zille, the DA has chosen a political heavyweight to try to win back South Africa’s commercial capital after a series of mayors in the past decade or so either quit, were forced out or – in the case of three of them – died while holding the post.
By nominating a seasoned political figure, the party aims to project stability and competence, and to replicate the success it has had in governing Cape Town, Johannesburg’s economic rival, often praised for its better service delivery.
“The next local government election is not DA vs ANC. It is a choice between decay and renewal,” DA leader John Steenhuisen told supporters in Soweto township. “Where the DA governs outright, we deliver.”
In her nomination acceptance speech, Zille promised better delivery of water, electricity, road repair and refuse services.
“We will not let Joburg’s taps stay dry. We won’t accept brokenness as the new normal,” she said. “We will wrestle our city back from a criminal mafia. When you drive through those potholed roads, in the darkness, where every broken streetlight represents a failed promise, I share your despair.”
Johannesburg has been governed by a variety of coalitions in recent years as no party holds a majority in the city council. The DA last held the mayoral role in the city in 2022.
