Is Helen Zille's candidacy elitist or will she win over Joburg voters in the 2026 elections?

Democratic Alliance (DA) federal chairperson, Helen Zille's nomination as the party's mayoral candidate in the City of Johannesburg ahead of the 2026 local elections has been met with both praise and criticism.

Political analyst Hlumelo Xaba said the announcement came as no surprise, considering that the party had already been hinting at the possibility of her candidacy for the past couple of months.

"The announcement of Zille’s candidacy for Joburg’s mayorship comes at a time when the city is faced with a myriad of service delivery challenges, such as the water cuts which have been prevalent over the past weeks," Xaba said.

"Notwithstanding Zille’s experience both in government as a former mayor of the City of Cape Town and premier of the Western Cape, which places her as a front-runner for the position, the real question is whether she will be able to attract voters in the peripheral areas of Johannesburg."

The party in Gauteng made the announcement on Sunday.

Xaba said that the DA will have a difficult time garnering support on the basis that the masses of Johannesburg do not believe in the party.

"This sentiment emanates from the fact that many perceive the DA as an elitist organisation that caters for a privileged minority as opposed to delivering services equitably even to disadvantaged and underprivileged communities as is the case in the City of Cape Town."

Xaba said that the DA would have to leverage the African National Congress' (ANC) failures in the City to consolidate the ground.

"The DA is likely to leverage their successes in Cape Town and the broader Western Cape as a campaigning instrument to try and cajole voters into supporting them," Xaba said.

"The dilapidation of Johannesburg’s infrastructure, coupled with the frustration of citizens, which is mostly attributed to the ANC’s failures, is something which I believe the DA will leverage to get support."

The DA is no stranger to the hot seat in the city, with ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba having occupied the seat during his tenure with the party after forming a coalition with the Economic Freedom Fighters in 2016.

Dr Mpho Phalatse was also a mayor in 2022, taking over from Mpho Moerane before subsequently facing a motion of no confidence and getting replaced with Thapelo Amad of Al Jama ah.

Political analyst Goodenough Mashego sang the DA's praises, saying that the party needed a person of Zille's calibre to guide them to victory in Johannesburg.

"By putting Helen Zille, the DA is putting a marketing tag line ahead. The timing gives media time to critique her on what she has done when she was mayor of Cape Town and critiquing her is branding her, because every time she speaks, she'll be pushing the manifesto of the DA."

Mashego said Zille has the potential to emerge victorious.

"She is already running while other parties are still tying their laces."

Westbury resident, Jerome Isaacs, said: "Maybe we should give the DA a chance again, I mean they did well when they were in power here, let's give them power again, but alone this time, you see, even Cyril Ramaphosa supports them, not his ANC comrades."

Ikageng Selepe from Alexandra expressed scepticism, saying the DA might also fail even if they get power.

"I don't see DA people in Alexandra, we can't get excited over Helen Zille, nothing says she will win or she will deliver if she wins," Selepe said.

"Our parents have been voting for the ANC, saying things will change, look at Alexandra now, look at Tembisa, Oliven and Soweto, many people are subjected to substandard living there."

The Star