Cilliers Brink named as DA's candidate for mayor of Tshwane

JOHANNESBURG - The Democratic Alliance (DA) has announced Cilliers Brink as its mayoral candidate for the Tshwane metro in next year’s local government elections.

The party concluded what it said was a thorough selection process and Brink came out as the best candidate for the job.

He served as the mayor of Tshwane for 18 months before being removed through a motion of no confidence in September last year.

Party leader, John Steenhuisen, announced Brink as the party’s mayoral candidate in Pretoria on Friday.

Brink is a law graduate who served as a member of Parliament from 2019 to 2023, before vacating his seat in the National Assembly to return to the Tshwane council.

He was elected mayor through a coalition between the DA and ActionSA, but was removed after Herman Mashaba’s party shifted its support to an African National Congress (ANC)-led pact.

When Brink was removed, videos of municipal employees celebrating at the City of Tshwane’s headquarters went viral.

Steenhuisen said that Brink was the candidate to drive Tshwane forward.

"Let’s introduce a man who has got the track record of delivery, a person who did between 2023 and 2024. The person who is going to do it again. The DA’s candidate for mayor of Tshwane is Cilliers Brink."

Meanwhile, questions remain over whether Helen Zille will be the DA's mayoral candidate in Johannesburg.