By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The African Transformation Movement’s (ATM) councillor Danny Thupane has been elected as the new mayor of Mogale City.
His election follows the successful motion of no confidence against the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Tyrone Gray last Thursday.
Thupane was elected by 43 councillors, beating out Gray, who received 31 votes.
The council also elected the African National Congress (ANC) Lucky Godfrey Sele as the new speaker.
43 councillors elected Sele, while Jacqueline Pannall, the former speaker and a DA councillor, only received 31 votes.
After the local government elections in 2021, the ANC lost its majority in several municipalities, leaving key municipalities in Gauteng, including Johannesburg, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and Mogale City, without a clear governance structure.
At the time, the EFF used its kingmaker status in Mogale City and several other hung municipalities to help vote in DA candidates to keep the ANC out of office.
This year, the EFF had a change of heart and was determined to prove it could govern.
The ANC has partnered with the EFF to co-govern in Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and the West Rand District Municipality.
ANC Gauteng chairperson Panyaza Lesufi has lauded the swift takeover of municipalities by the ANC and EFF.
He said about 70% of municipalities were controlled by the ANC, but the remaining 30% were not.
This was why the party was helping to fix the political vacuum, Lesufi added.
The ANC said it believed its takeover alliance would help fix the instability experienced in hung municipalities.