African National Congress (ANC) Gauteng chairperson Panyaza Lesufi has been re-elected as premier. Lesufi was elected unopposed at the provincial legislature’s first sitting this afternoon.
The Democratic Alliance (DA), which has agreed to join the provincial government of unity, supported Lesufi’s nomination to Gauteng’s top office.
In his acceptance speech on Friday, Lesufi emphasized that combating crime would remain one of his top priorities. He stated, “I hereby call on all political parties that want to be part of the government of provincial unity to start to prepare for this task. We’ve been asked to work together, and work together we will. We have been asked to combine our ideas for a better Gauteng, and combine our ideas we will do.”
Simultaneously, the ANC’s Morakane Mosupyoe has been elected Speaker of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature. She was elected unopposed, with her nomination seconded by the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party.
In her remarks, Mosupyoe expressed her surprise at being elected unopposed and reaffirmed her commitment to her new role. She said, “I want to take this opportunity to start by thanking you for presiding over the process and to frankly just reaffirm the oath that I took because that entails the responsibilities of all the honourable members.”
