Political situation in South Africa

South Africa's "Iron Lady" enters mayoral race

South Africa's opposition Democratic Alliance, DA, has nominated former party leader Helen Zille as its mayoral candidate in Johannesburg, the country's second largest city, according to several media outlets. The 74-year-old, who has been called "South Africa's Iron Lady", is considered to be behind the successes in last year's national elections, when the ruling ANC lost its majority for the first time.

In Johannesburg, the mayoralty has changed hands between different people in recent years. Since 2016, the city has had eleven different mayors.

Johannesburg is the richest city on the entire continent. The city and the province of Gauteng have been hit by water shortages, bad roads and allegations of corruption in recent years.

- Johannesburg is South Africa's most devastating example of how bad governance can affect a wonderful people, says Zille, according to the FT.

Expert: Lack of youth and freshness in South Africa

The fact that a 74-year-old former party leader is entering the race for mayor of a big city like Johannesburg is an understatement for South African politics. This is what Menzi Ndhlovu, an analyst at Signal Risk, told the Financial Times after the opposition DA announced that Helen Zille would be their candidate in next year's elections.

Ndhlovu emphasizes that Zille is a skilled politician with a long history.

- But given her age [...] I think it shows shortcomings in South Africa's political landscape and the lack of young, emerging leaders, he says.