Johannesburg has elected its first Muslim mayor

• The city council elected Thapelo Amad of the Al Jama-ah party.
• He vowed to prioritize the fight against corruption.
• His predecessor was deposed in a no-confidence vote earlier this week.

JOHANNESBURG – After months of political maneuvering and legal battles to control South Africa‘s business capital, a councilor from a small Muslim party was elected mayor of Johannesburg on Friday.

The city council elected Thapelo Amad of the Al Jama-ah party to replace mayor Mpho Phalatse, a member of South Africa’s largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA).

Amad, 41, described himself as “humbled” and “overwhelmed” to be the country’s first Muslim mayor.

“It makes South African history,” he told the council after the vote.

He vowed to prioritize the fight against corruption.

Amad was elected with the backing of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), which holds the majority of council seats but fell short of an outright majority in the 2021 municipal elections.

Amad’s appointment was unexpected, given that Al Jama-ah holds only three of the council’s 270 seats, and comes after months of coalition wrangling.

His predecessor, Phalatse, 45, was deposed in a no-confidence vote earlier this week.

It was the third no-confidence vote the outgoing mayor had faced since September, when she was ousted after her coalition fell apart, only to be reinstated by the courts.

After the ANC lost local elections in its worst showing since the advent of democracy in 1994, Phalatse became the first black woman to lead South Africa’s central economic hub in 2021.

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