The voting for the speaker of council was interrupted by an irate EFF party who challenged City Manager Trevor Fowler use of a “secret ballot”.
@Sandton_News Swearing in of councillors resumes. Judge Mlambo starts with affirmations. This is the 2nd set of 20 councillors #Joburg
— Belinda Pheto (@BelindaaPheto) August 22, 2016
He said that there seemed to be disagreement on how a “secret ballot” should be cast. The voting soon resumed once the opposition party members, who had stormed the stage, settled down.
Fowler urged councillors to keep their votes secret.
@Sandton_News Voting for the Speaker of Council resumes #joburgcouncil pic.twitter.com/teKInNK0HU
— Belinda Pheto (@BelindaaPheto) August 22, 2016
@Sandton_News Voting for the Speaker of Council is underway. It's a 'secret balot' #joburgcouncil pic.twitter.com/yuKiYs876E
— Belinda Pheto (@BelindaaPheto) August 22, 2016
The Johannesburg metro was hotly contested during the elections could soon have a new mayor. Councillor elects were sworn in this morning and the mayor, council speaker and chief whip will also be elected and sworn into office.
Mayoral candidate for the DA Herman Mashaba said he was confident that he will be Mayor of Johannesburg. He said he has worked out differences with EFF and they are now on the same page. He added that the EFF will vote for him.
This is a developing story and updates will follow.