DURBAN - Former eThekwini mayor and current ANC mayoral candidate Mxolisi Kaunda said he remained confident of a victory to retain his mayoral chain.
"We are much stronger than before. That's all I can say," said Kaunda, before a party caucus meeting at Durban's international Convention Centre on Wednesday.
Later in the day, the city's inaugural council meeting was expected to produce a new municipal leadership.
Kaunda was nominated by his party's national executive committee, ahead of Thabani Nyawose whom most people tipped for the mayoral position.
It was the city's second attempt to hold an inauguration after Monday's sitting was collapsed by a power failure and disruption by ANC supporters.
Hours before the start of the proceedings, sources from various parties said it was a foregone conclusion that Kaunda would be re-elected as mayor.
Sources said the ANC had dismantled the coalition block which had been led by the DA, IFP, EFF as well as smaller parties. There were rumours that few small parties had concluded a deal with the ANC to help it cling to power in the city.
DA mayoral candidate Nicole Graham said that although some small parties had dumped the DA for the ANC, she was confident of a positive outcome.
Sources within the block said the DA would take mayorship and the IFP deputy position. The ABC's Philani Mavundla and ActionSA’s Dr Makhosi Khoza would be given chief whip and municipal public accounts committee positions respectively.
ActionSA spokesperson Busi Gumede said she would comment only after the inauguration.
Any party that wants to govern the city needs to get at least 112 out of 216 seats. The ANC has 96 seats, the DA 58, the EFF 24 and the IFP 16. ActionSA received four and ABC two while the rest of the small parties had one each.
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