In a gob-smacking turn of events, the ANC’s Eugene Johnson was elected mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay, effectively dethroning the DA’s Nqaba Bhanga by a single, crucial, vote.
Who is the new mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay?
Tensions were palpable inside the Eastern Cape metro’s council gathering, on Monday, where 120 seats were allocated to their respective political party, based on proportional representation.
A coalition led by the ANC came out in favour when coveted positions were voted on. Gary van Niekerk, who is a member of the Northern Alliance (NA) edged the DA’s Rano Kayser by a single vote to become the new Nelson Mandela Bay council Speaker.
Van Niekerk’s first task in his new position was to oversee the election of the NMB mayor. The ANC’s Johnson notched 59 votes, only one more than Bhanga’s 60.
The deputy executive mayor of NMB post was handed to the ANC’s Buyelwa Mafaya, while the ruling party’s Warra Jikeka was elected Chief Whip.
Outgoing mayor Nqaba Bhanga reacts to NMB election turnout
Reacting to the outcome, Bhanga, whose recent car accident is the subject of an ongoing police inquest, accepted the loss as a strong showing of a thriving democracy.
“It’s all about accepting that the will of the majority, of the councillors, have elected their leadership. But it’s so disappointing that you had parties like, AIM, Mkhuseli Jack, and also the UDM, who have changed to the ANC.
“But it’s all about the people. It’s all about not the fun fare today, but about the detail on how we change people’s lives and our experience under an ANC-led coalition is that it was messy, it broke this city down,” he said.
Bhanga stood by the DA’s decision to steer clear from going into coalition talks with the ANC and EFF.
“We stood firm on our principles because what was expected out of us in terms of all the mayoral seats, didn’t want us to have any service delivery departments, which would have been difficult in delivering services to the people,” he added.
The ANC and DA each have 48 seats in the NMB council. The EFF is the third most represented party with nine seats, followed by the National Assembly’s three, and the ACDP and Freedom Front Plus with two each.