ActionSA to open applications for Johannesburg mayoral candidate

As political parties gear up for the upcoming local government elections, ActionSA said it will soon open internal applications for its Johannesburg mayoral candidate.

The municipal elections in Johannesburg are expected to be fiercely contested, with polls indicating a continued decline in support for the African National Congress (ANC).

The Democratic Alliance (DA) recently named Helen Zille its mayoral candidate, while other parties have yet to unveil their candidates.

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Speaking to journalists in the Johannesburg CBD on Wednesday, ActionSA National Chairperson Michael Beaumont announced the party’s mayoral candidate selection process will officially launch next week.

“We have a candidate selection process that says that when we initiate a process for a mayoral candidate selection, we need to open up applications. We’ll make a decision based on the applications and whatever to go down,”Beaumont said.

He said ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba would also apply for the party’s mayoral candidacy in Johannesburg if necessary.

“Whether Herman wishes to apply to be a candidate will be a choice that he needs to undertake,” Beaumont stated.

“There are certainly many people in the party, and I count myself amongst them, who know that there is nobody who can fix Joburg like Herman Mashaba.”

Beaumont said while Mashaba has not yet decided if he will contest, he believes Mashaba is the best person for the position.

“It has to be an individual choice that he and his family will need to make. ActionSA is also not a party that will win and die on one particular leader. Competition is a good thing. There might be a number of young and bright candidates in Johannesburg who want to compete.”