By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
City of Ekurhuleni council meeting in Germiston on 8 November 2022.
Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor Tania Campbell has been re-elected as the executive mayor of the Ekurhuleni metropolitan municipality.
Campbell received 124 out of 224 votes to return to the helm, while ANC councillor Jongizizwe Dlabathi only managed to secure 99 of the votes cast.
Campbell was voted out through a motion of no confidence just last month.
Talks between the ANC and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) failed, with the ANC’s provincial executive committee in Gauteng rejecting a proposal for the election of an EFF mayor in the city.
Tuesday’s proceedings saw EFF Gauteng chairperson and caucus leader in Ekurhuleni, Nkululeko Dunga, withdrawing from the mayoral race.
“We looked at the conditions and remember the EFF is not obsessed with power… what we are obsessed about is that there must be a constitution of government, a government of majority and a government that will deliver effective services to our people,” he told the media at the Civic Centre Council Chambers in Germiston.
The ANC’s motion of no confidence by the region went against the provincial leadership of the ANC, which had instructed regional chair Mzwandile Masina to withdraw the motion.
Following the victory, Campbell said: “It does show you there is confidence in me, but also it shows that the majority of council actually wants work to happen and wants stability within the city.”
Meanwhile minority opposition parties in the City of Joburg have confirmed their intend to bring yet another motion of no confidence against reinstated mayor, Mpho Phalatse.
In a media briefing on Monday, the minority parties part of the ANC-led coalition criticised the DA and ActionSA for using courts to run the Joburg metro.
Phalatse returned to the helm of the city last month after winning her bid in challenging her removal as the metro’s mayor.