Cape Town - Mayor Patricia de Lille will be facing off against five relatively unknown DA candidates in her bid to retain the mayoral chain.
Nominations for the position have closed and the Cape Argus understands that six candidates are vying for the job.
De Lille has already indicated that she would run for re-election, which was confirmed by her office on Tuesday.
Close sources to De Lille said she was not worried about her prospects and welcomed competition.
The DA remained mum about the candidate selection process, refusing to confirm details about the candidates or even how many nominations had been received.
Provincial DA spokeswoman Liza Albrecht said she was unable to comment.
The nominees include four men and two women, including De Lille.
“Except for the current mayor, none of those nominated are current public representatives,” a source told the Cape Argus, while another said they had “never heard of” the other five nominees.
Albrecht could not confirm when an official announcement would be made, but it is believed the mayoral candidates would be unveiled by the weekend.
While the DA was still sifting through nominations, rumours were rife that a well-known local actor, musician and theatre manager could be in the running for the city’s top job.
The name of Loukmaan Adams, best known for his collaborations with David Kramer and the late Taliep Petersen, specifically his roles in the musicals District 6: The Musical and Kat & the Kings, was thrown around as a possible nominee and competition for De Lille.
As the rumour did the rounds – with at least six senior DA members confirming it was him – it appeared that a mispronunciation, misspelling or misread nomination form was behind it.
The first reaction of Adams’s publicist, Shihaam Domingo, was to burst out in laughter when asked for confirmation.
“Funny enough we had a political conversation earlier this week and Loukmaan just switched off. He is definitely not a political guy. And will not be running as mayor,” she said.
Domingo made contact with Adams –who is performing on a cruise ship en route to Durban – and his response was “no”.
“If they were offering me money to make music and theatre then it is definitely me,” he said in an SMS.
Cape Argus