City of Johannesburg Mayor Sello Dada Morero has stepped down officially, following a High court decision reinstating the Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Dr Mpho Phalatse.
The High Court in Johannesburg declared Phalatse as the Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg in an early morning ruling.
Phalatse approached the court after she was ousted as mayor during a vote of no confidence in late September.
Morero’s election set aside
The election of the ANC (African National Congress)’s Dada Morero as the City’s mayor has been set aside.
Judge Raylene Kieghtley declared the decision by the council speaker to schedule an Extraordinary meeting of the council on the 30th of September as unlawful.
The decision was taken during the Programming Committee meeting the day before.
It was during this meeting that the motion of no confidence was placed on the agenda, yet another decision that was also declared invalid.
“There’s a legal and political battle. We’ve won the legal battle and now we must fight the political battle. We will put our heads together with the parties that remain and see what to do.” says Phalatse.
The Court has declared all decisions taken by Morero unlawful and invalid. The African National Congress (ANC) says it’s still reviewing the judgment. However, the party believes the judgment merely delays the inevitable.
“Mpho Phalatse is aware that she does not have the numbers which are why she has gone to court and not the council. If she had numbers she would have gone to council and fought her battles in council,” says ANC Joburg Regional Spokesperson, Sasabona Manganye.
Political analyst, Jan Joubert political analyst says Phalatse has a tough task ahead to reunite coalition partners.
Joubert adds, “The ANC and its allies have a way of playing roughshod over the rules. But with that said Dr Phalatse is going to have a tough task being re-elected. She has lost the confidence of her partners, so many would say this is a technical victory.”
The Johannesburg council is scheduled to convene on Thursday. It’s unclear if another motion of no confidence will be on the agenda.
Morero weighs up options following Dr Phalatse ruling
