Dr Mpho Phalatse will make yet another attempt to return to the mayoral position of the City. This is as Phalatse was nominated once again as Executive Mayor of Johannesburg after being ousted by opposition parties in a motion of no-confidence.

With 140 votes for the motion and 129 against, Phalatse was vacated from office.

Following her removal, the City Council was expected to elect a new mayor on 26 January 2023. However, this was put on hold as some council members claimed that they were not informed to bring the ID documents.

Speaker of the Council, Colleen Makhubele then closed the meeting and announced that the meeting would reconvene the following day with the voting for the new mayor, being first on the agenda.

Among the nominations candidates include Thapelo Amad from Al Jama-ah, ActionSA's Funzi Ngobeni, as well as the ousted mayor Dr. Mpho Phalatse.

With a variety of voices from different parties, one candidate seems to stand out among the rest: Thapelo Amad. 

Backed by his own party as well as the ANC, which is the party with the most seats in the Council, Thapelo Amad could garner quite a number of votes today.

The Patriotic Alliance may be one to watch today.

“For me if there is two men in the room wanting a position and one lady, you [should] always give it to the lady”- Gayton McKenzie

The Joburg Post caught up with President of the PA, Gayton McKenzie before the motion of no-confidence against Phalatse, where we asked him who the PA’s preferred candidate for mayor would be.

McKenzie expressed that his party were still going to discuss this but hinted towards voting for a “lady” if the other two candidates were men. 

One can view this statement as rather confusing.

With the broken relationship between the Democratic Alliance and the PA, one would not think that the PA would vote to have Phalatse back in the mayor’s seat. 

Only time will tell, how today’s vote will play out.

Will the said coalitions go through as planned, and will we see a return of the ANC in power in the coming months?

The Johannesburg City Council is set to resume the Council Meeting today.