Who is the mayor, and which parties run the council?
Voters choose the (Council The group of elected people who make decisions for a municipality. They pass its budget and choose the mayor.). The council chooses the (Mayor The leader of the municipality. Councillors choose this person, not voters. So the seats each party wins decide who can lead.). So the mayor can change between elections.
No (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.) won more than half of the 270 (Seat A place on the council, held by one councillor. A party with more votes gets more of these places.). The ANC won 91 in 2021. Dada Morero (ANC) has been executive mayor since 16 August 2024. An executive mayor makes many of the council's decisions. He is still mayor in August to October 2026. A (Coalition Parties that agree to run a council together, usually because none has more than half the seats alone. Together they choose the mayor.) is a group of parties that run the council together. The governing coalition is the ANC, EFF, PA, IFP and the Minority Governing Parties. The Minority Governing Parties are a bloc of ten smaller parties. A bloc is a group that acts together. They include Al Jama-ah. The sources are EWN (27 Feb 2026), DM (Daily Maverick, 28 Jan 2026) and EWN (17 Jan 2026). In 2026 the partners hold posts on the mayoral committee. This is a team of (Councillor A person elected to make decisions for a municipality, such as the budget and who the mayor is. Each one holds one seat.) who help the mayor. These posts include the following. The EFF's Moshe Koma holds Public Safety from April 2026. The IFP's Mlungisi Mabaso holds Human Settlements (housing). The PA's Kenny Kunene holds Transport. Community Development is the seat of the minority bloc. Thapelo Amad of Al Jama-ah has held it from January 2026. The bloc asked him to resign in July 2026. The outcome was not reported. ActionSA backed Morero's election in 2024. In June 2025 ActionSA moved to working with them issue by issue. This means it decides on each issue on its own. On 26 February 2026 Loyiso Masuku (ANC) was elected first deputy mayor. There was no other candidate. Al Jama-ah brought motions of no confidence between December 2025 and February 2026. These are council votes to remove the mayor or speaker. They were put off or not put forward. No current source gives the coalition's total number of seats. Daily Maverick wrote in January 2026 that the city 'may be headed for its 11th executive mayor in 10 years'.
Aug 2024 to now
Dada Morero (ANC)Current mayor
Council run by ANC, EFF, PA and IFP. The council elected him on 16 August 2024, by 189 votes to 60.
May 2023 to Aug 2024
Kabelo Gwamanda (Al Jama-ah)
Council run by Al Jama-ah, ANC and EFF. He resigned on 13 August 2024.
Jan 2023 to Apr 2023
Thapelo Amad (Al Jama-ah)
Council run by Al Jama-ah, ANC, EFF, PA, ATM, African Independent Congress and Congress of the People. He resigned on 24 April 2023, the day before a vote of no confidence in him. His party, Al Jama-ah, had three seats.
Oct 2022 to Jan 2023
Mpho Phalatse (DA)
Council run by DA, ActionSA, IFP, FF+ and ACDP. A court put her back on 25 October 2022. The council removed her by a vote of no confidence on 26 January 2023. From 19 January 2023, when the PA rejoined, her group had 137 seats. A majority needs 136.
Sep 2022 to Oct 2022
Dada Morero (ANC)
Council run by ANC, EFF, PA, Al Jama-ah and African Independent Congress. On 25 October 2022 a court ruled his election invalid. It gave the post back to Mpho Phalatse.
Nov 2021 to Sep 2022
Mpho Phalatse (DA)
Council run by DA, ActionSA, IFP, FF+, PA and ACDP. The council removed her by a vote of no confidence on 30 September 2022. A court later ruled that vote invalid. In September 2022 her group said it had 138 votes. A majority needs 136.
How were the seats split?
Who holds the 270 (Seat A place on the council, held by one councillor. A party with more votes gets more of these places.) now, counted up to 24 Jun 2026. A (Party A group of people who stand for election together, with shared plans.) needs 136 seats to run the (Council The group of elected people who make decisions for a municipality. They pass its budget and choose the mayor.) on its own. No party has that many. So parties must work together to choose the (Mayor The leader of the municipality. Councillors choose this person, not voters. So the seats each party wins decide who can lead.) and pass the budget.
- ANC89
- DA70
- ActionSA44
- EFF29
- PA11
- IFP7
- 12 other parties20
Each dot is one seat. The dot with a ring is seat 136. That is how many seats one party needs to run the council alone. Each party shows in its own colour. Grey dots are the 12 other parties, with 20 seats between them.
What has the council done?
Tap a topic to see what we checked.
Core servicesWater, lights, rubbish and roads: what your council runs.5 checks
- Council recordJohannesburg lost 30% of its electricity in 2024-25, worth R5.7 billion, three times the 10% norm. Verified
- Council recordJohannesburg Water did not prevent water pollution at its Goudkoppies sewage works. Verified
- Council recordJohannesburg Water did not keep its pipes in good repair, which led to frequent bursts. Verified
- Council recordJohannesburg lost 45% of its water in 2024-25, worth R2.8 billion, above the 30% norm. Verified
- Claim by ANCMayor Dada Morero (ANC) said Johannesburg paid off its R5.25 billion overdue debt to Eskom. Verified
Housing and landHouses, informal settlements and title deeds.2 checks
Safety and jobsCrime, metro police and work in your area.2 checks
Governance and moneyCorruption, audits and budgets: how your council uses your money.3 checks
- Council recordJohannesburg's own accounts got a qualified audit for 2024-25, a step down from the year before. Verified
- Council recordNational Treasury held back Johannesburg's July 2026 equitable share payment for a time. Verified
- Council recordJohannesburg had R2.38 billion in unauthorised spending in 2024-25, mostly spending over budget. Verified
What the official records say
From the Auditor-General and the national government. Every council gets the same checks. A council that is not on a list shows no row.
The Auditor-General gave the City of Johannesburg a qualified audit opinion for 2024-25. That is worse than in 2023-24, when it got an unqualified opinion with findings.
This means some parts of its accounts had big mistakes, or it could not show proof for some amounts.
Auditor-General of South Africa, 24 June 2026
Where do I vote, and who is my ward councillor?
Johannesburg has 135 (Ward A small area inside a municipality. Each one elects one councillor.). You can only vote at the (Voting station The place where you vote, often a school or a hall. You can only vote at the one where you are registered.) where you are (Registered Your name is on the voters' roll. Registration for this election closed on 7 August 2026.).
Pick what matters to you and see which parties promised it, with a link to where it said so.
Take the quizFind your town to see your ward, your voting station and every name on your papers.
Or check with the IEC
- Who is my ward councillor now?IEC lookup. Shows your ward and who represents it now. (IEC website)
- Voting station finderIEC map. Find the station where you are registered. (IEC website)
Spotted a mistake? Report a mistake. Every change is logged on the Corrections page.