POLITICS - DA federal council chair Helen Zille has already put her fingerprints on her party’s Johannesburg caucus ahead of her nomination as mayoral candidate to be announced this weekend.
The DA is expected to announce Zille as their candidate in Soweto on Saturday.
Zille will likely go head-to-head with the ANC’s Dada Morero for the position at next year’s local government elections. The elections are set to be held between 2 November 2026 and the end of January 2027.
While her party has not yet officially confirmed that she will lead their campaign in Johannesburg, a highly placed source told The Citizen yesterday that Zille has been chosen for the role.
In previous mayoral elections, the DA fielded its current caucus leader in the city, Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku. However, it is understood that she has been informed that Zille will instead contest the elections while she remains in her position.
Echeozonjokuto refused to comment on the decision. She [Zille] is a veteran politician, she is a master tactician. She is exactly what Johannesburg needs to turn things around, a source said.
According to the source, the DA is planning on going into a coalition with a small number of parties in Johannesburg with the aim of stabilising service delivery.
“We have seen what happens in unstable coalitions and we have learnt from that.”
The Citizen understands that Zille has already started overseeing and supervising activities remotely from her base in Cape Town. It is believed that she is preparing to move to Johannesburg after her candidacy is made public.
Zille’s federal council chair position
A source said Zille taking control of Johannesburg would be a “big deal” for the party.
“Leading the City of Joburg is a big job, so she would have to step down as DA federal council chair so she can focus on this,” they added.
The DA is expected to hold its federal congress early next year. It is believed that she will not run for re-election, allowing her to focus on running for mayor of Johannesburg.
Political analyst Andre Duvenhage said Zille would have difficulties occupying the position of federal council chair and being Johannesburg’s mayor at the same time.
“It will be a difficult task; many times, people are doing strange things in politics, but Zille is very level-headed. I cannot see her continuing in both positions.
“To be a mayor of Joburg is a huge task, and to manage the DA towards the 2029 elections is going to be extremely challenging. She is already elderly and has indicated that she wants to leave politics, but I think politics caught up with her,” he said.
Zille’s legacy project
Duvenhage believes that campaigning for the mayor of Johannesburg could be Zille’s bow out of politics.
“I do not see her staying long as the federal council chair of the DA. That is a critical position, but she has performed exceptionally well, and the reason the DA is keeping her is that she made a difference.
“I see her in the role of a mayor rather than federal chair of the DA,” he said.
Can the DA survive without her?
Duvenhage said Zille will leave a big vacuum if she steps down as the federal council chair, but there is talent in the DA that can take over from her.
“She has a track record over time that is exceptionally good, not only as the mayor of Cape Town but also as the premier of the Western Cape.
“She was part of that process to change local governments in the Western Cape, and the DA also has some success outside of the Western Cape.
“Zille has argued that there is huge talent within the DA and there are strong candidates in the party, including the mayor of Cape Town and the premier of the Western Cape. They will miss her and her experience, but there are people within the framework of the DA,” he said.
Tough battle ahead
Duvenhage said that contesting the City of Joburg will not be a walk in the park for the DA. He predicted a likely coalition arrangement.
“We can argue a coalition between the ANC and maybe the MK party, if Ramaphosa is gone at that point. The EFF, IFP and all these groupings together can make a coalition that can definitely be an option, or another type of coalition within another framework.
“But I think that the DA can perform well. They have built on their support base, and there are people in the DA who believe that they should have got control of Gauteng a long time ago. The opportunity has been there, but there has been a lack of strong candidates, so I believe that is why they have positioned Zille for this specific task,” he said.
Article: Caxton publication, The Citizen
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