Zille names Mashaba and Kunene as her main competitors in Johannesburg mayoral race

Democratic Alliance mayoral candidate Helen Zille says Johannesburg’s key electoral contest will hinge on voter turnout, while warning that rivals Kenny Kunene and Herman Mashaba remain significant threats. Johannesburg mayoral candidate for the Democratic Alliance,Helen Zille,says her main political competitors in the city are Patriotic Alliance’s Kenny Kunene andActionSA leader Herman Mashaba, while uncertainty remains over who the African National Congress (ANC) will nominate amid internal divisions. Speaking in an interview on BizNews TV, Zille said she was “lucky” that thePatriotic Alliancehad put forward Kunene, whom she criticised sharply over infrastructure issues in Johannesburg.

“I call them the Pothole Alliance, because Kenny Kunene is responsible for the roads in Joburg. And if you see them, you’ll understand why thePatriotic Allianceis in Joburg, the Pothole Alliance.” She added that Mashaba should not be underestimated, citing strong anti-immigrant sentiment among some voters as a factor that could boost his support. Zille said there was “an absolute deep hatred of foreigners in many parts of Joburg” and warned that Mashaba’s focus on the issue was “a vote winner for him, and he’s going to do it more and more and more, even if it has disastrous consequences, as it may do.” Zille said the ANC’s choice of candidate would also be significant, but suggested internal divisions could weaken its campaign.

She said a senior ANC figure had indicated the party would select “definitely a person with a national profile,” but added that factionalism meant “it will split down the middle whoever they choose.” She said she had been told by a senior ANC figure that the candidate would be “definitely a person with a national profile,” but added that “they are so internally divided that it will split down the middle whoever they choose.” Addressing criticism about where she campaigns, Zille said she regularly engages with communities across Johannesburg. She said when audiences question why she speaks to familiar supporters instead of other communities, she responds by saying, “I’m in other communities far more than I’m in audiences like this. All the time, in Alexandra, in Orange Farm, in Zandspruit and in Soweto, everywhere, all the time.”