The Democratic Alliance (DA) has officially named its Federal Chairperson and former party leader, Helen Zille, as its mayoral candidate for Johannesburg in the 2026 local government elections.
Zille, who previously served as Mayor of Cape Town and Premier of the Western Cape, was unveiled at a Soweto rally where she declared:
“Joburg’s people will never give up on her, and I am one of them! It is a privilege to accept the nomination as mayoral candidate for this great city. We will not let taps stay dry. We won’t accept brokenness. We will wrestle Jozi back from a criminal mafia.”
DA leader John Steenhuisen framed the decision as a turning point for Johannesburg, warning voters against being swayed by “flashy promises from unreliable opponents” and urging them to back competence, integrity, and a proven record of delivery.
5 key priorities Zille outlined in her speech
1. Fixing water and electricity supply
“You see it when you open your tap in Lenasia – or here in Soweto – and no water comes out. Or when you sit in darkness during endless power cuts in Roodepoort, Randburg and Eldorado Park. We will not let Joburg’s taps stay dry. We won’t accept brokenness as the new normal.”
2. Restoring law and order
“Your heart sinks when you think of the hijacked buildings of Hillbrow and Berea, where I once lived in dignity, but where families now live in danger. We will wrestle our city back from a criminal mafia, and return her to those who love her.”
3. Repairing basic infrastructure
“You feel it with every pothole on Louis Botha Avenue, or the Golden Highway — arteries of our city that have been left to crumble. You smell it when you walk down Pritchard Street in the CBD, and others littered with rubbish and choked by illegal dumping.”
4. Professionalizing the city administration
“The city administration must be staffed with skilled, ethical and capable professionals. These officials must be appointed for what they know, rather than who they know or are related to. They must be rewarded for excellence, and held accountable for failure.”
5. Reviving Joburg’s economic promise
“Johannesburg was once the drumbeat of South Africa … a magnet for the best and brightest. For cities to flourish, elected representatives must be driven by a desire to serve and improve their communities. The DA is a party that believes in maximising freedom under the rule of law — we provide the conditions that allow all people to flourish, and a pathway out of poverty in a city that enables, not obstructs.”
Rival parties react
Following the announcement, ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba — who previously served as Mayor of Johannesburg under a DA-led coalition — offered a scathing response.
“I mean, it’s really an insult to the people of Johannesburg,” Mashaba stated emphatically.
“I worked with Helen Zille. I know what I’m talking about. She has never shown interest in serving the people of Johannesburg.”
Mashaba went further, accusing Zille of being driven by political relevance rather than service:
“Her interest is being relevant in politics, not to serve the people of Johannesburg,” he said, before questioning the DA’s current leader.
“John Steenhuisen, really, I mean, you know, what’s going on in the DA? What is it that he’s trying to achieve?”
The ActionSA leader closed his remarks by doubling down:
“This is an insult to the people of Johannesburg. This woman has no interest in serving the people of Johannesburg. Her interest is just to be relevant in politics.”
Mashaba’s fierce rebuttal underscores a deepening rivalry between ActionSA and the DA, as both parties fight to position themselves as the credible alternative to the ANC in Johannesburg.
Public and political commentary
Political commentator Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh argued Zille will be hard to beat:
“Like it or loathe it, Helen Zille will be a formidable mayoral candidate in Joburg, with the capacity to make the DA the biggest party in the metro. The ANC will only have itself to blame for presiding over JHB’s decline.”
On social media, reactions were split. Some users predicted Zille’s inevitable victory, while others urged the newly formed Mayibuye Africa movement to put forward former EFF deputy leader Floyd Shivambu against her, along with Mashaba and ANC candidate Dada Morero.
Others expressed outright rejection. “I will never ever vote for Helen Zille or ANC candidate. I live in JHB. There are other parties,” one X user posted.
The bigger picture
With Johannesburg long plagued by service failures, corruption, and unstable coalitions, the DA is betting that Zille’s national profile and governance record will resonate with disillusioned voters.
As South Africa continues to grapple with political realignments following the 2024 general election results, the race for Joburg is shaping up to be a test case for the balance of power in the country’s most important metro.
Whether Zille can convert her rhetoric of renewal into electoral momentum remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: the 2026 Johannesburg mayoral race is now one of the most closely watched battles on South Africa’s political calendar.
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