The battle for control of eThekwini is heating up, with a growing field of political heavyweights lining up to take control of KwaZulu-Natal’s economic hub in the November 4 local government elections.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has already thrown its weight behind former councillor and MP Haniff Hoosen, while the African National Congress (ANC) has not yet announced an official mayoral candidate and is currently weighing up five candidates for the city’s top political post.
The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) has entered the race with Deputy Minister of Transport Mkhuleko Hlengwa, while ActionSA has selected its KwaZulu-Natal leader Zwakele Mncwango. The EFF has named Hlengiwe Mkhaliphi as its candidate, while the MK Party has selected Zandile Hlophe.
Haniff Hoosen – DA
Hoosen is no stranger to eThekwini politics, having first been elected to the Durban City Council in 1996.
The Chatsworth-born politician later served in Parliament for 17 years, first with the Independent Democrats before becoming a DA MP. He served as the DA’s shadow minister for Home Affairs and later Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, focusing heavily on municipal performance and accountability.
He was the DA’s eThekwini mayoral candidate in 2016 and has been selected again for the 2026 election.
Hoosen has made the restoration of basic services the centrepiece of his campaign, focusing on water and sewage failures, street lighting, roads, municipal accountability and township investment.
The DA has positioned him as an experienced local and national government figure who wants to move from holding government to account to running the city himself
Cyril Xaba – ANC
Incumbent Mayor Cyril Xaba is among the five ANC candidates seeking the party’s nomination.
Xaba has been mayor since July 2024 and has spent much of his political career in government. Raised in Clermont, he entered politics as a student and served in the KwaZulu-Natal Legislature before becoming an MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development.
He later served as an MP and returned to local government as mayor during a particularly difficult period for eThekwini, marked by water shortages, infrastructure failures, financial pressures and political instability.
Xaba is expected to rely on his experience as the incumbent and the ANC’s established political machinery in the city.
Nomusa Dube-Ncube – ANC
Former KwaZulu-Natal premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube brings perhaps the strongest provincial profile to the ANC shortlist.
Dube-Ncube made history in 2022 when she became the first woman to serve as premier of KwaZulu-Natal. She is currently Deputy Minister of Higher Education and Training.
Her political career also includes serving as MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs and Finance.
She has also previously served as mayor of the former North Central Local Council before it became part of eThekwini.
Her experience spans local, provincial and national government, making her a potentially formidable contender for the ANC nomination.
Thabani Nyawose – ANC
eThekwini Speaker Thabani Nyawose is another experienced local government figure on the ANC shortlist.
Nyawose was first elected as a councillor in the post-1994 period and has held senior positions within the municipality, including more than 15 years as a senior manager in the Human Settlements unit.
He became Speaker of the eThekwini council in 2021 and is responsible for overseeing a council made up of 222 councillors.
Nyawose also holds a Master’s in Public Administration from UKZN and has a particular interest in housing and municipal development.
His long history in the city’s political and administrative structures could make him a strong contender for the ANC nomination.
Mina Soma-Lesoma – ANC
Former MP Mina Soma-Lesoma is also on the ANC’s five-person shortlist.
Although less prominent nationally than some of the other contenders, her inclusion highlights the depth of the ANC’s internal contest as the party attempts to retain control of its traditional KZN stronghold.
Her candidacy will be closely watched as the ANC weighs political experience, local government knowledge and the need to rebuild its support in the metro.
Maggie Govender – ANC
ANC veteran Maggie Govender brings decades of political and community activism to the contest.
The Durban-born politician is a former KZN MEC for Human Settlements and Public Works and remains a member of the provincial legislature.
Govender was involved in the anti-apartheid struggle, including the United Democratic Front, Natal Indian Congress and ANC underground structures. She was also involved in Operation Vula and later served as a delegate at the Convention for a Democratic South Africa.
Her long political history and roots in Durban give her a distinctive profile among the ANC contenders.
Mkhuleko Hlengwa – IFP
The IFP has entered the race with one of its most prominent young national politicians.
Hlengwa, 39, is the party’s national spokesperson, a Member of Parliament since 2012 and currently Deputy Minister of Transport.
He previously chaired Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa), one of the country’s key oversight committees.
The IFP says Hlengwa’s parliamentary and oversight experience gives him the skills to tackle the city’s governance and service delivery challenges.
He will be supported by businessman and IFP veteran Sizwe “Mavava” Sikhakhane, who has been named the party’s deputy mayoral candidate.
The IFP has described the pairing as a strategy to bring experienced political and business leadership to the metro.
Zwakele Mncwango – ActionSA
ActionSA has selected its KwaZulu-Natal leader Zwakele Mncwango as its mayoral candidate.
Mncwango has placed basic services, financial discipline, corruption, law and order and municipal accountability at the centre of his campaign.
He has also pledged to tackle water and sewage problems, saying major leaks should be repaired within 48 hours, while proposing that essential municipal services be brought back in-house.
ActionSA is positioning Mncwango as a candidate who can challenge the established parties by offering a more aggressive approach to municipal reform.
Hlengiwe Mkhaliphi – EFF
The EFF has named Hlengiwe Mkhaliphi as its candidate, adding another opposition voice to an increasingly crowded mayoral contest.
The EFF enters the race with an established electoral base in eThekwini after securing 10.5% of the vote in the 2021 local government elections.
Mkhaliphi will be tasked with building on that support while taking the fight to the ANC and DA in a metro where issues such as unemployment, housing, service delivery and municipal governance are likely to dominate the campaign.
Zandile Hlophe – MK Party
The MK Party has selected Zandile Hlophe as its eThekwini mayoral candidate, adding further competition to the race.
The party is expected to draw significant support in KwaZulu-Natal, where it made a strong showing in the 2024 national and provincial elections.
Hlophe will be tasked with converting that support into a strong municipal campaign in eThekwini, while focusing on issues such as service delivery, unemployment, housing, corruption and the city’s governance challenges.
The MK Party’s presence could have a major impact on the final balance of power, particularly if it attracts support from voters who previously backed the ANC or other opposition parties.
The ANC remains the biggest party in eThekwini, but its grip on the metro has weakened significantly.
In the 2021 local government elections, the ANC secured about 42% of the vote, followed by the DA on about 26% and the EFF on about 10.5%. The IFP received about 7.1%, while ActionSA secured about 1.9%.
The ANC lost its outright majority in the metro and has since governed through a coalition arrangement with the EFF.
The 2026 election therefore presents a major test for the governing party, while opposition parties will be hoping to turn dissatisfaction over water, sewage, roads, electricity, crime, infrastructure and municipal finances into votes.
With the MK Party now also fielding a mayoral candidate, eThekwini is shaping up to be one of the most fiercely contested mayoral battles in the country.
The big question is whether the ANC can hold on to Durban, whether the DA can make a breakthrough, or whether the opposition vote will be split enough to leave the city with another complicated coalition.
The final decision on who becomes mayor will ultimately depend on the composition of the new council and the political alliances formed after the November 4 election.
