Mashaba says he pulled out of the Joburg mayoral race to prevent the DA handing the metro to the ANC

23 November 2021 - 12:00
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ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba says his party voted for the DA in line with its promise to keep the ANC out of power.
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba says his party voted for the DA in line with its promise to keep the ANC out of power.
Image: Freddy Mavunda Business Day

As the dust settles in Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg after the election of new mayors on Monday evening, ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has explained why he pulled out of the mayoral race.

Mashaba said ActionSA and other smaller political parties were caught between voting with the DA or giving power back to the ANC in the two metros. He said ActionSA chose the former to keep its promise made to supporters that it would not back the ANC. 

What stood between the ANC and the DA in the City of Johannesburg was him pulling out of the mayoral race, said Mashaba. 

He had his sights on the metro until the DA announced at the weekend that it was not going to vote to have him at the helm. The party announced it would field its own mayoral candidates in both cities.

Mpho Phalatse was elected the new Joburg mayor on Monday. 

Mashaba said ActionSA and other political parties chose to endorse DA candidates despite the party’s “arrogance” and refusal to work collaboratively with smaller coalition partners. 

In Johannesburg, we knew that if it came down to a choice between ActionSA and the ANC, the DA would simply abstain, handing the keys to the metro to the ANC. This is not what residents want, and this is not what residents deserve,” said Mashaba.

He said this demonstrated ActionSA’s commitment to serving South Africans before fulfilling political ambitions. 

The DA’s irresponsible actions created a crisis in coalition politics in SA. It threatened to hand municipalities back to the ANC and it threatened the long-term nature of these arrangements ahead of the 2024 national elections,” said Mashaba.

The DA has yet to respond to Mashaba’s comments.

Mashaba commended smaller parties for holding their stance. 

“The actions of a group of political parties, of which ActionSA is one, will ensure that the flame of a multiparty alternative to the ANC can be kept alive, even if it must be led by a party undeserving by its actions,” said Mashaba. 


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