Ahead of the 2026 local government elections, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has announced Cilliers Brink as its Tshwane mayoral candidate.
Brink served as mayor of the city for 18 months before he was removed in a motion of no confidence in September last year, which saw ActionSA’s Nasiphi Moya take over the position.
Brink had been elected through a coalition which was backed by Herman Mashaba’s party, but was removed when ActionSA shifted its alliance to support the ANC- Economic Freedom Fighters-led coalition in the city.
Before becoming a Tshwane councillor, Brink served as a DA MP.
In March, DA federal chair Helen Zille announced that the party had opened applications for candidates wishing to apply to be considered as mayoral candidates in the cities of Tshwane, Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni and Mangaung. Ziille said the DA was approaching next year’s elections with the intention of governing and rescuing these troubled metros.
She said applicants would be interviewed and scored, and asked questions randomly drawn from a pre-approved bank, to ensure the integrity of the process. Successful candidates would thereafter be approved by the DA federal executive.
During Friday’s announcement of Brink as the Tshwane candidate, DA leader John Steenhuisen said his priority as mayor would be to improve the lives and livelihoods of Tshwane residents, who he urged to vote for the party next year.
“Right now, there are just five seats separating the ANC from the DA in the council. Five seats. Your vote can decide whether Tshwane moves forward or slides back. In a race this close, your vote is your voice and it can change everything,” Steenhuisen said.
In his acceptance speech, Brink said he was determined to finish the work he had started in his previous stint as mayor to build a capable city. He accused the ANC of stripping the City of Tswane of internal systems and controls for decades, deploying unqualified cadres into management positions.
Before the DA took over control of Tshwane in 2016, the ANC had been in charge of the city since the first democratic elections. The party’s eight-year tenure has not been without allegations of corruption, with the city being placed under administration by the provincial government. The Constitutional Court, however, ruled that the move was unlawful.
“When the ANC finally lost power in 2016, it used its network of cadres and tenderpreneurs to make Tshwane ungovernable by disrupting council meetings, blocking disciplinary actions against senior officials and finally colluding with the corrupt Gauteng government to place the city under unlawful administration,” Brink said.
“They plunged Tshwane into chaos and brought the city to the edge of financial ruin. In the 18 months that my team and I led Tshwane, we moved the city forward. We appointed a diverse group of competent professionals to management positions.
“While ActionSA gets to wear the mayoral chain, the decisions of this government are ANC; in fact, in the corridors of Tshwane House, they say George Matjila [ANC regional secretary] is the real mayor.”