Joburg mayoral election postponed
The City of Johannesburg will remain without a mayor for the next week following the postponement of the council meeting to elect the city’s new first citizen.
Council Speaker Vasco de Gama postponed proceedings on Thursday due to what he described as a lack of clarity on the voting procedures in council.
Members of the council could not agree on what constitutes a majority vote when it comes to numbers in council, with most saying a majority is 50% + 1%.
“Councilors, I think I have made it quiet clear that I have consulted with legal and I have told you about where the confusion is. Therefore, I really need to take a decision on this and my decision is that we need to postpone this meeting for the 4 and 5 December,” De Gama said shortly before adjourning the sitting.
The postponement by De Gama angered the African National Congress (ANC), with NEC member Dakota Legoete describing him as a “mediocre speaker”.
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#JoburgMayor ANC NEC member Dakota Legoete says speaker Vasco de Gama is a 'mediocre speaker', after he postponed today's sitting. pic.twitter.com/b8Wdm1xhSP
— Jacaranda News (@JacaNews) November 28, 2019
The Democratic Alliance (DA) came out in support of the decision, saying there is clearly a lack of clarity around what constitutes a majority when some council members are absent.