Just in: Why the Johannesburg Mayor vote has been postponed

The ANC’s bid to seize control of Johannesburg will have to wait a little while longer. Their candidate Geoff Makhubo was tipped to officially replace Herman Mashaba as the city’s mayor, until the municipal elections of 2021, after he seemed the most likely to earn a majority of votes. However, Council Speaker Vasco da Gama pushed the matter back to the end of next week.

The DA might have some temporary respite here, but it’s now all eyes on Tshwane. Another leadership change is on the cards in the north of Gauteng, after Stevens Mokgalapa took leave to deal with sexual misconduct allegations levelled against him. The no-confidence motion is already underway.

Johannesburg Mayor vote pushed back a week

We reported earlier in the day that the DA were likely to lose two major metros in Gauteng, as the numbers are stacked against them. Without the EFF backing they enjoyed in 2016, the Blues looked set to concede the driving seat to the ANC, who have a larger number of representatives in the council. However, there were issues with the vote – and backdoor deals – right from the off.

I have learnt that the ANC has rejected the EFF demand to change their #JoburgMayor candidate. The EFF told ANC that they didn’t want Geoff Makhubo. The sitting will continue and the ANC is confident that even without the EFF they “have the numbers”.

— Kgothatso Madisa (@kgmadisa) November 28, 2019

Why the vote for Johannesburg Mayor was postponed

Makhubo is competing against Funzela Ngobeni, and Musa Novela. The respective DA and EFF candidates remain in contention for the leadership role. But the trio have an anxious wait to find out which one of them will be declared the winner. The speaker claimed he wanted a “second legal opinion” on how to count the votes. Matters have been complicated by the recent passing of an ANC councillor.

With 270 seats presiding in Jozi, it’s thought that a candidate who received 136 votes or more would automatically win the election on the “50 + 1” rule – any majority, no matter how small, takes control based on this principle. Da Gama, however, is adamant that he consults a legal team before sanctioning the ballot.

The vote will now take place on either Wednesday 4 December or Thursday 5 December:

JUST IN: Joburg Council Speaker Vasco Da Gama announces the postponement of the election of the #JoburgMayor. This was after objections were raised regarding what constitutes a majority vote, considering that the ANC has lost a Cllr, who died recently. @TheStar_news @IOL pic.twitter.com/XQ5M2HW8Xh

— Khaya Sibulele Koko (@khayakoko88) November 28, 2019

Who is Geoff Makhubo?

Despite the postponement and the EFF’s views on his “problematic” past, Makhubo is still seen as the most likely nominee to fill the void left by Herman Mashaba.

The ANC’s chair in Johannesburg has had designs on the mayorship of Johannesburg for a long time. He may be a stalwart of regional politics, but his copybook comes with a blot. Just 12 months ago, he was implicated in a tender fraud scam. His Molelwana Consulting business is said to have received R30 million in a deal with the Gupta-linked Regiments Capital.

He has previously served as the city’s MEC for finance and as the party’s treasurer in Jozi, before the ANC lost control of the city in 2016. He has experience and an intimate knowledge of how things work, but it will take a collective bout of amnesia for politicians on all sides to forget his alleged indiscretions.