By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@GalloImages.
The African National Congress (ANC) chairperson of Ekurhuleni region Mzwandile Masina has withdrawn from the Ekurhuleni mayoral race.
This comes as councillors from the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality are meeting on Wednesday afternoon for a special council meeting to elect a new executive mayor, following the ouster of the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Tania Campbell from office last week through an ANC-sponsored motion of no confidence.
Campbell is expected to stand again as the DA’s mayoral candidate after she served 11 months as the metro’s mayor.
It was widely anticipated that the ANC would field Masina as their mayoral candidate, but the former Ekurhuleni mayor confirmed he had withdrawn from the mayoral race.
Masina was the mayor of Ekurhuleni for one term under a multiparty coalition government from 2016 to 2021.
Unfortunately, I have served my five-year term and when I attempted my second term, I was defeated. So it’s time to focus on other issues in the movement… the ANC is here and its presence is going to be felt today,” he told reporters outside the council chambers in Germiston.
Before Masina’s withdrawal, a meeting was held between ANC and the EFF leaders, where it was agreed that the ANC would support the election of an EFF councillor to be mayor.
Some of the prominent leaders who were present include ANC Gauteng chairperson Panyaza Lesufi, and the EFF’s deputy president Floyd Shivambu.
Its believed that EFF councillor Nkululeko Dunga, who is the EFF’s provincial chairperson in Gauteng, may be supported by the ANC to become the new mayor of Ekurhuleni.
In exchange, EFF councillors in Johannesburg are expected to support the ANC’s Dada Morero to become Joburg mayor.