The Mashaba Johannesburg mayor offer to the Democratic Alliance is set out in a letter dated Saturday, 7 November 2026, in which ActionSA proposes that both parties drop their Johannesburg mayoral candidates.
According to TimesLIVE, ActionSA president Herman Mashaba wrote to Democratic Alliance (DA) federal leader Geordin Hill-Lewis proposing that he and DA candidate Helen Zille both withdraw from the Johannesburg race. The DA would then nominate a replacement ActionSA can back, and ActionSA would take the deputy mayor post. Mashaba wrote:
It is clear from these elections that the support for our two parties is increasing.
What does the Mashaba Johannesburg mayor offer cover in Tshwane and Ekurhuleni?
The letter sets out a similar trade in Tshwane, where DA candidate Cilliers Brink would resign his council seat, the DA would nominate a deputy mayor acceptable to ActionSA and the DA would back Dr Nasiphi Moya as mayor. In Ekurhuleni, ActionSA is willing to support a DA mayoral candidate.
The proposal rests on the local government election results. In Johannesburg, the DA won 34.79% of the vote, the African National Congress (ANC) 20.25% and ActionSA 16.27%. In Tshwane, the DA took 34.37%, ActionSA 22.07% and the ANC 20.22%. In Ekurhuleni, the DA won 30.68%, the ANC 22.11% and ActionSA 18.5%.
Mashaba, who resigned as Johannesburg mayor and left the DA in October 2019, argued that past tensions between the two parties should not stop negotiations between them over how the three Gauteng metros are run. He wrote:
It would be irresponsible to allow such history to inhibit the exploration of further discussions.
How has the DA responded to the Mashaba Johannesburg mayor offer?
Party insiders cited in the report said the DA would not accept the terms because they were unfair to its candidates. One DA leader said the party could not have ActionSA dictate how it handles internal matters, while adding that a power-sharing deal remained possible. ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont said the dispute was with Zille, not the DA:
Our issue in Johannesburg is not the DA; it’s Helen Zille.
Beaumont said ActionSA was unhappy that the contents of the letter had reached the media, and that talks between the two parties were still planned for Thursday, 12 November 2026, despite the public dispute over the terms. He said:
We are disappointed by the fact that the contents of this letter have been shared with the media.
What happens next after the Mashaba Johannesburg mayor offer?
The talks come before the councils in all three metros meet to elect mayors. Johannesburg’s coalition picture remains open, with no party holding an outright majority, and the DA has not said whether it will change its candidate. Mashaba argued in his letter that both parties had a reason to deal:
I believe it would be foolish of our respective parties to fail to recognise this.
Sources
