Who will be the new mayors in Tshwane and Joburg?

Political analysts warn that the battle for mayoral positions risks overshadowing the urgent need to fix struggling municipalities. Everybody is waiting to see who will be announced as the next mayors of Tshwane and Johannesburg following the local government elections last week. Moya thanks Tshwane residents as term ends On Sunday, City of Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya thanked the residents for their support as her term ended. “You were patient as we began the process of turning around a broken city,” she said. “We have laid a solid foundation for rebuilding the capital city. My love and commitment to the people of Tshwane is unwavering.” Moya said ActionSA’s Tshwane caucus is ready to camp in all communities to ensure that services are delivered. ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba said he was more than proud of Moya, but didn’t elaborate on the coalition talks currently underway. “It’s the early stages of negotiations,” he said. DA prepares for coalition negotiations DA Tshwane mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink said the mayor remains in the position until the election of a new mayor. Brink said while the DA has emerged from the 2026 local government elections as the biggest party in the Tshwane metro, the aim was for a complete win to end the coalition chaos. That did not happen. “In a democracy, you have to play the cards dealt to you by the voters and this is what we will do,” said Brink. “We approach coalition negotiations with humility, openness, but also principled determination. DA leader Geordin HillLewis has written to all political parties to start negotiations to form a coalition government. “In Tshwane, we campaigned for an absolute majority. But we respect the will of the people and the mandate received by other parties. “We approach the negotiations with openness and humility, and we will be guided by our principles and own electoral mandate. “We won’t form coalitions that we know won’t be able to make the changes needed to get towns and cities working.” First council meeting to determine next steps Brink said the law requires the first council meeting, when the mayor and speaker are elected, to convene 14 days after the certification of the election results. “This gives parties a chance to negotiate and finalise coalition agreements.” Political analyst Piet Croucamp said he couldn’t imagine ActionSA will be prepared to give up Tshwane. “It looks like Moya has done enough to convince sufficient numbers of people in Tshwane that she is a worthy candidate and that she hasn’t been a bad mayor.” Analysts weigh in on Tshwane and Joburg mayoral battles Croucamp felt sorry for Brink. “He has really put everything into his campaign,” he said. “This is going to be horse trading and he might just be the victim. It seems to me that the DA will be prepared to stand up and fight for Helen Zille in Johannesburg, including with the ANC if it has to be. “I can’t imagine ActionSA coming back from this. There can’t be an agreement for him with Zille in Joburg. That leaves him with Tshwane.” Political analyst Rene Oosthuizen urged the DA and ActionSA to stop treating coalition negotiations like a battle over political trophies while municipalities are falling apart. “I find it deeply disturbing to see so much energy spent fighting for positions, yet so little urgency about the people waiting for basic services,” she added. Oosthuizen said that while politicians fight for power, ordinary citizens will pay the price for their failure to put the public first.