MK Party unfazed by rivals in Joburg mayoral race

The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) in Gauteng says it is not shaken by the mayoral candidates announced by DA, ActionSA, and Patriotic Alliance (PA), for the City of Johannesburg and will unveil its own candidate before April.

In a recent interview with IOL News, MK Party Gauteng spokesperson Abel Tau said the party was following its own internal processes.

“Where we are currently is that we are still running our own internal processes to get to the announcement of the mayoral candidate,” Tau said.

“We have noted that other parties have made their announcements, but we have our own timelines and will not be pressured by what others have done.”

Tau said the party could not provide an exact date but assured voters the announcement would be made before April.

His comments come after Herman Mashaba was officially named ActionSA’s mayoral candidate for the City of Johannesburg ahead of the 2026 local government elections. 

The announcement was made at the Orlando Community Hall in Soweto on Saturday.

Mashaba, who served as Johannesburg mayor from August 2016 to November 2019, was one of five senior leaders considered for the position. 

He previously indicated he would consider running if the party could not identify a suitable candidate with similar qualities to City of Tshwane Mayor Dr Nasiphi Moya and ActionSA’s Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate, Xolani Khumalo.

The race for Johannesburg is intensifying, with three candidates officially declared so far: Mashaba; Helen Zille, federal council chairperson of the Democratic Alliance, and Kenny Kunene of the Patriotic Alliance, who currently serves as MMC for transport in the metro.

Johannesburg continues to face severe service delivery challenges, including water and electricity shortages, potholes, deteriorating infrastructure, uncollected refuse, and non-functioning streetlights and traffic signals.

The African National Congress (ANC) has yet to confirm whether it will retain incumbent mayor Dada Morero or nominate a new candidate. 

Speaking to IOL News, ANC Gauteng provincial spokesperson Mzi Khumalo said it was a known resolution of the ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) that the announcement of metro and certain key local municipality candidates would be made by March 2026.

“Given the answer above, the question does not apply,” he said when asked whether there were concerns that the delay in announcing the mayoral candidate would affect the party in the upcoming local government elections.

He said the ANC had already declared this year the “year to fix local government and economic development”.

“Secondly, six pillars have already been announced: infrastructure development, building a capable and developmental local government, restoring trust and accountability by reconnecting with the people, enabling an inclusive economy, job creation and industrialisation, and communicating services, programmes and successes. Work has begun to ensure service delivery to our communities,” he said.

Khumalo added that the announcement of the mayoral candidate would be made by the NEC.

Tau said the MK Party was not concerned that delaying its announcement could affect its prospects.

“Every political party has its own strategy in terms of how it approaches the election,” he said.

He added that the party believed in collective leadership and merit-based selection.

“We believe the person chosen for Johannesburg, as well as other metros and district municipalities, must be tried and tested leaders who know how to run municipalities and can turn them around.”

Tau criticised rival candidates, saying they were out of touch with the realities of Johannesburg. 

“When you look at Helen, one is that she's out of touch with the realities of Johannesburg as a city.”

“Her track record speaks for itself. I mean, she has failed to improve the lives of people in the Western Cape. So, we don't think that she will do anything different in the city of Johannesburg.”

“This is a very different environment with a highly cosmopolitan society. So, we don't think she'll do anything. The same thing is true for Herman Mashaba.”

“One of the challenges that you are going to have with individuals like these ones is that they are detached from reality.”

Tau said he does not believe that Mashaba has anything to offer. 

“But Herman lacks staying power. When the pressure mounts, he walks away. Johannesburg does not need a mayor who treats the city as a side project.”

“It needs someone committed for the long haul. Unfortunately, I don't see Mashaba being able to do that for residents of Johannesburg,” Tau said.

On the ANC, he said changing candidates would not alter what he described as entrenched problems within the party.

“The ANC, whether it is Loyiso Masuku or anyone else, remains the same. If its vote is entrenched, nothing will change - and the less said about Kunene, the better.”

Masuku is the ANC’s Johannesburg regional chairperson and the first woman to be elected to the position. 

She won the top post last year with 184 votes, defeating rival Morero, who received 149.

Tau added that MK Party would announce its mayoral candidates for the City of Johannesburg, City of Tshwane and City of Ekurhuleni collectively before April.

“We anticipate that we will be able to make those announcements before the start of April,” he said.

“There are internal processes that must be respected. We do not want to pre-empt the outcome.”

He said the party had opened a window for expressions of interest and insisted the candidate would emerge from a formal selection process rather than being appointed.

“At this stage, no member has expressed interest. The process has just opened, and until expressions of interest are formally received, we cannot speculate,” Tau said.

He maintained that the MK Party would present candidates capable of addressing service delivery failures in Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni.

“When the announcements are made, residents will see that we are serious about turning their lives around,” he said.

[email protected]

IOL Politics