John Steenhuisen, the leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) has announced Haniff Hoosen as his party’s mayoral candidate for Durban ahead of local government elections set for late 2026 or early 2027.

Hoosen is a DA MP from Durban. His long political career has taken him from the National Party to the Independent Democrats and now the DA.

The African National Congress (ANC) secured strong majorities of seats in the Durban council in the 2006, 2011, and 2016 local government elections. However, it lost that majority in 2021 (winning only 96 of 222 seats) entering into a coalition with small opposition parties (and excluding the DA). That 2021 result foreshadowed the much steeper collapse in ANC support in KwaZulu-Natal in the 2024 national election.

Durban will therefore be a key flashpoint in the coming local government polls. The DA has to date been the second strongest party in the metro with 59 of 222 seats but will face a stiff challenge from the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK) which has yet to contest a local government poll but which won 45% of the vote in KwaZulu-Natal in 2024.

ANC insiders in KwaZulu-Natal have told The Common Sense that they fear a disastrous local government result as the DA and MK look to carve up their vote share.