UDM councillor, Luxolo Namette, has been elected as the new Deputy Mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay, despite objections by some councillors.
His election took place during a hybrid, virtual sitting of Council on Monday. He was up against the Patriotic Alliance's Marlon Daniels for the position following his nomination by the United Front's,
Mkhuseli Mtsila, who was booted out of the governing coalition last month.
Announcing the outcome of voting, which was done by secret ballot, Speaker, Jonathan Lawack said Namette received 58 votes while 54 councillors voted for Daniels.
Namette replaces Tshonono Buyeye, who resigned on Sunday to take up the position as the Mayoral Committee member for Infrastructure and Engineering, a move described by the mayor, Nqaba Bhanga, as "a big sacrifice."
In welcoming Namette's election, despite objections from other parties, Bhanga said he was a "hard worker" and that he has a huge responsibility to lead with "honour, dignity and integrity."
Meanwhile, a motion of exigency by Daniels to remove Bhanga, Speaker Jonathan Lawack and the Chief Whip, fell flat after the Speaker said the motion was "incompetent" in terms of the Municipal Structures Act.
Council will sit again in seven days to table and debate the 2021/2022 draft budget.
