Coalition talks begin for Joburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni mayors
With no party winning an outright majority in three Gauteng metros, ActionSA, the ANC and the DA are heading into coalition negotiations over who will lead each city.
Coalition negotiations are about to start in Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni, where the 2026 local government elections left no party with an outright majority. According to TheAfrikaans-free summary in The Citizen’s report, ActionSA has emerged as the party that could tip the balance.
ActionSA finished as the country’s fifth-largest party, passing 1.6 million votes nationally. Over 1.1 million of its ballots were cast in Gauteng, almost entirely in the metros. In Tshwane its share rose to 22.07% this year, up from 8.64% in 2021.
Where the parties stand
ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont has reportedly met both the DA and the ANC. He told News24 his meeting with the DA was about mending ties rather than coalition terms: “let’s put the past behind us and focus on the future”. The two parties have been at odds for years, since Herman Mashaba and Beaumont left the DA and their attempted coalition after the 2021 elections.
ActionSA already governs with the ANC in the province, and that arrangement put Nasiphi Moya in the Tshwane mayoral chair. The DA cooperates with the ANC nationally and has said it might want a similar deal in local government.
The Sunday Times reported that ActionSA will enter the talks wanting to keep the Tshwane mayoralty and to stop Helen Zille from becoming Johannesburg mayor. An ActionSA source told the paper the party would keep the DA out of Johannesburg if it insisted on Zille. The DA’s campaign for her won 34.81% of the vote, and the party is understood to be taking a firm line on her appointment. Mashaba has made no secret of wanting to be Johannesburg mayor again.
ANC chief whip Mdumiseni Ntuli did not rule out a deal with the DA, but said Zille’s campaign against the ANC in Johannesburg had left bad feeling among many ANC leaders.
Ekurhuleni and the mayoral question
Ekurhuleni was run by an ANC-led minority coalition before the election, and the ANC may want to keep it. The Citizen notes that the ANC has recently seemed more comfortable playing a powerful role from outside the mayoral seat. Nkosindiphile Xhakaza could remain mayor. Under a DA-ActionSA deal, the DA would probably take the post through Khathutshelo Rasilingwane. DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis has said positions should reflect the seats each party brings.
EFF leader Julius Malema predicted that ActionSA will struggle to hold two metros, saying it would have to choose between Moya and Mashaba. ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said ActionSA had won credit for Moya’s work that his party felt it deserved a share of.
What this means for residents
No mayors have been confirmed. The talks are expected to run for about two weeks, and the outcome will decide who runs services in three of the country’s biggest cities. Mbalula has called for services to keep running while the new governments are formed.
This story is based on reporting by The Citizen.
