JOHANNESBURG, Gauteng — As the November 2026 Local Government Elections (LGE) draw nearer, the mayoral race is rapidly intensifying across South Africa’s key municipalities. With less than 100 days remaining until voters head to the polls, political parties are making strategic early moves to win voter confidence, highlighted by Build One South Africa (BOSA) and ActionSA officially unveiling their mayoral candidates for Tshwane, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga.
Build One South Africa (BOSA) has officially announced Martha Moshiga as its mayoral candidate for the City of Tshwane. Accepting the nomination, Moshiga expressed humility, gratitude, and a deep sense of responsibility, emphasizing her commitment to stabilizing the capital city. “I believe in this city and its people, and I believe in its potential,” Moshiga stated during her address, adding that Tshwane should be a city that makes all South Africans proud.
Meanwhile, ActionSA has announced its provincial chairperson, Victor Mothemela, as the party’s mayoral candidate for Polokwane in Limpopo. ActionSA Limpopo Provincial Secretary Shobane Mafona clarified that the nomination was a strategic move endorsed by the party’s upper echelons to ensure strong local governance. “This decision was not taken by the provincial executive committee on its own,” Mafona explained. “It was a decision that was taken by the national leadership to say in Polokwane we need a very strong man or woman who will be able to take this municipality forward.”
In Mpumalanga, ActionSA has significantly expanded its electoral footprint by unveiling mayoral candidates for eight municipalities. The targeted areas include Bushbuckridge, the City of Mbombela, Emalahleni, eMakhazeni, Dr JS Moroka, Steve Tshwete, Victor Khanye, and Thembisile Hani.
ActionSA National Chairperson Michael Beaumont highlighted the party’s calculated and data-driven approach to the upcoming polls. “ActionSA has looked across all of the municipalities in South Africa and we’ve selected those that we will be contesting in these 2026 local government elections,” Beaumont said. He noted that while the candidate list may grow slightly in the week ahead of the official nomination deadline next Friday, the party is actively narrowing down its choices to target specific municipalities where the next set of political breakthroughs are poised to occur.
With the nomination deadline rapidly approaching, both BOSA and ActionSA are shifting their campaign focus toward convincing voters that their newly announced candidates possess the capability to drive meaningful change, restore ethical leadership, and improve service delivery in their respective municipalities.