Johannesburg – The Democratic Alliance (DA) has named Helen Zille as its candidate for mayor of Johannesburg.
DA leader John Steenhuisen announced his party’s mayoral candidate on Saturday, 20 September 2025.
“It’s wonderful to be with you here this morning in the beating heart of Southern Africa – right here in Soweto,” Steenhuisen said before making the mayoral candidate announcement ahead of the 2026 local government elections.
“I think we can all agree that we love this place.
“I love the energy here. And you know, almost everyone in South Africa has some connection to this city: whether they came here for work, or they have family members who’ve made it home.”
He urged residents to vote for a candidate who will make this city work.
“For a Jozi we love, and a Jozi we believe in. Because once we believe again, once we act, this city can flourish,” the DA leader said.
“Can Johannesburg work again? Yes, it can.
“Can we fix the lights, the water, the roads? Yes, we can.
“Can we build the Jozi we all love? Yes, we can.”
Steenhuisen said where the DA governs outright, it delivers.
“We fix leaks faster, we collect the rubbish, and we invest in electricity, and we keep the water flowing through taps,” the DA leader boasted.
“Don’t take my word for it. The Auditor-General confirms it. And even the ANC’s [African National Congress] own President has admitted it, saying: ‘the municipalities which do best are… DA municipalities’.”
Steenhuisen added: “And so it is with great pride, and even greater urgency, that I re-introduce to you: a daughter of this city, a leader I believe in, someone we can all believe in — your very own DA mayoral candidate for Johannesburg: Helen Zille”.
Accepting her nomination, Zille, the DA Federal Council chair, said: “It is a privilege for me to accept the nomination as your mayoral candidate for this great City.
“I acknowledge with respect all the other candidates who gave me stiff competition for this honour.
“Today, I address the people of Johannesburg, who, like us, refuse to give up on her Golden Promise.
“Many of you may know me as an ex-Mayor and an ex-Premier. And also a mother and a Gogo.
“But I’m here today as a daughter – a daughter of Johannesburg.
“I was born and raised in this great city.”
Zille bemoaned the state of Johannesburg, citing the potholes, litter, uncollected rubbish, and dry taps in some parts like Lenasia and Soweto.
“Your heart sinks when you think of the hijacked buildings of Hillbrow and Berea, where I once lived in dignity, but where families now live in danger,” lamented the DA mayoral candidate.
“And you can sense it in the fear gripping the suburbs where people hunker down behind high walls and razor wire.
“Joburg now symbolises the burden that bad government places on great people.
“But, the good news is that in a democracy, the people have more power than their government if they will only use it.
“They can vote for change.”
