Lungani Zungu & Zukile Majova
After all is said and done, the big question for these elections is who will govern the City of Gold.
If the ANC crumbles in Johannesburg, it could mark the beginning of the end of the party’s 27-year rule in the nation’s major cities.
The election in Johannesburg is also expected to give a clear indication to whether black middle-class voters are turning their backs on the ruling party.
The ANC was left shocked in 2016 after it failed to secure a majority victory in Jo’burg – for the first time since the dawn of democracy in 1994.
It was a hung municipality with the ANC winning 121 seats, the DA 104, EFF 30, IFP 5, and AIC 4 seats. The FF-Plus, ACDP, Aljama, UDM, and Cope got one seat each.
Then the DA and EFF joined forces to take over the running of the city but the coalition did not last.
This time around the EFF said it won’t join forces with either the DA or the ANC.
Former DA leader and mayor of Jo’burg Herman Mashaba has formed ActionSA, a new party sworn to good governance and getting rid of corruption.
Feeling betrayed by the DA and vehemently opposed to the corruption that has dogged the ANC government, there is no telling which of the big parties would win Mashaba’s heart.
And therein lies the opportunity for smaller parties like the IFP, AIC and UDM – to emerge as kingmakers.
Seats in the executive mayor’s committee, chief whip, deputy mayor and even speaker are all positions that can be offered to kingmakers.
Julius Malema told the media he was hoping the EFF could even get mayoral chains through the wheeling and dealings of coalition governments.
“Rest assured, after these local government elections, there will be metros with EFF mayors – either directly or through coalition,” he said.
Another metro that will be fiercely contested will be Nelson Mandela Bay, where dissatisfaction with ANC rule has been on the rise for many years.
Add to that the uproar caused by many residents when Port Elizabeth was renamed Gqeberha, and the result could be on a knife edge.
In 2016, voters here gave the DA 46,7% of the vote compared to the ANC’s 40,9%.
KwaZulu-Natal metros are still predominantly ANC and the ruling party is expected to cruise to victory in both eThekwini Metro and Pietermaritzburg, the official seat of the provincial legislature.
The IFP, which is one of the strongest opposition parties in the province, has been losing support in urban areas while it’s splinter party, the NFP took some of its supporters in the Zululand region.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said it was all systems go for this year’s local government elections.
