Johannesburg 2026 Election Results: The DA should partner with the ANC to make Helen Zille the mayor

Academic Adam Habib said that the ANC is a logical coalition partner for the DA in Johannesburg to ensure that Helen Zille becomes mayor of the city.

• Click here to see live results from the Newsday Election Results Portal.

Habib is the former vice-chancellor of the University of the Witwatersrand and the current vice-chancellor of SOAS University of London.

He follows and writes about South African politics and society, which positions him well to comment on local political matters.

He has been a proponent of Zille becoming Johannesburg mayor, saying he would have liked her to enjoy an outright majority.

However, this did not happen. The DA is likely to get 34.6%, the ANC 20.3%, ActionSA 17.5%, and the EFF 6.6%.

Many people have called for the Democratic Alliance and ActionSA to partner, but Habib argued that such a partnership would not be his first choice.

“The most obvious partner for the DA is the ANC. The collective vote of the two would be in the upper 50s, enabling a stable coalition,” he said.

“This is only feasible if it is the national, not the provincial, ANC that manages the relationship with the DA, with the goal of service delivery.”

“The EFF and MKP should be no-go areas. Both parties are corrupt and will compromise Zille’s ability to build an honest and competent municipal government.”

He argued that the most sensible non-ANC coalition partner for the DA would be ActionSA, as they would also create a coalition with over 50% of the vote.

However, for this coalition to happen, Herman Mashaba and Helen Zille would have to put their egos aside. This will be challenging.

Following ActionSA’s strong performance in the 2026 elections, Mashaba has been slating the DA and calling it a racist party.

“These racists are showing their true colours. They take me for a boy, to be told what to do and how to feel,” Mashaba said about the DA.

“They are under the impression that they have self-imposed superior logic and thinking. They have never been my medicine and will not be now.”

“We are being disrespected by those who believe that the DA is the only party that must work with the ANC through the front door, but all other parties should not.”

Helen Zille would not comment on Mashaba’s desire to be Johannesburg mayor, saying she had commented on him during her campaign, and would not start now.

The table below shows the current share of the vote in Johannesburg, with 92% of voting districts reported.