The ANC was counting on the EFF to wrest Ekurhuleni from DA mayor Tania Campbell, but an ANC/EFF deal to co-govern collapsed, and Campbell was voted back into office.
She was ousted last month in a motion of no confidence brought by the ANC.
Campbell was elected by 124 votes in a special council sitting yesterday, with 99 votes going to ANC deputy regional chairperson Jongizizwe Dlabathi.
News24 said it understood that the ANC in Gauteng had failed to persuade the region to support the EFF in taking up mayoral offices in the metro.
It reported that EFF councillor Nkululeko Dunga, who withdrew his candidacy for mayor yesterday, declined to confirm whether the EFF had helped the DA-coalition return to office. Voting was held by secret ballot.
However, News24 said the large majority received by Campbell suggested that the EFF had voted with the DA.
Campbell said after being returned to office: ‘We had, and still have, a plan to service the residents of Ekurhuleni. It is a pity that two and a half weeks have been wasted. We will be hitting the ground running. I thank the councillors that voted for us.’
[Image: Democratic Alliance, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=112767822]