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- Nthabiseng Tshivhenga will remain the speaker of Ekurhuleni.
- Earlier, Sivuyile Ngodwana was voted out as mayor.
- A new mayor will be elected after seven days.
Ekurhuleni speaker Nthabiseng Tshivhenga has survived a motion of no confidence in her.
Ninety councillors voted to oust her, against 116 who voted for her to retain her position.
The motion was brought by DA councillor Raymond Dhlamini, the council's former speaker, and seconded by DA caucus chief whip Michael Waters.
According to motion papers set out in the agenda, the speaker failed in her duty to maintain and "preserve order and proper decorum during the meetings". During the brawl, Tshivhenga, an EFF councillor, left the council without leadership.
This comes after two brawls in council, the last on 29 February when coalition members the EFF and ANC threw punches over a motion of no confidence in the former executive mayor Sivuyile Ngodwana - which was successful on Thursday.
During the debate held before the vote, the EFF said the motion was brought by the “sexist” and “racist white colonialists”, the DA, who they said don’t want to see a black woman hold a powerful position in council.
The FF+ said they had lost confidence in the speaker, arguing that she did not uphold the decorum of the council. They also used the opportunity to take a dig at the DA, who abstained in the vote against the executive mayor.
The motion against Ngodwana was passed with 47 votes in favour and 32 against. The ANC and DA abstained from voting.
The move did not come as a shock to the leading coalition members.
Ngodwana holds one of three African Independent Congress (AIC) seats.
The AIC is one of the "super seven" minority parties - along with the ATM, ICM, PAC, Cope, UDM and NFP - which joined the ANC/EFF coalition.
The super seven voted with ActionSA against the mayor on Thursday.
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Speaking to reporters before the motion, Ngodwana said he was not confident ahead of the vote but added he would wait for the process to take its course.
He was seen sharing a joke and holding hands with Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi.
Lesufi declined to comment and was not in the gallery for the vote.
The council's regulations state a new mayor must be elected after seven days.
The motion against Ngodwana was brought by ActionSA and was set to be heard on 29 February.
During the February debate, however, the council erupted into chaos when coalition partners, the EFF and ANC, engaged in a brawl.
It resulted in the speaker - Tshivhenga - leaving the building.
This was one of the main motivators for the second motion of no confidence in Tshivhenga on Thursday afternoon.
The motion against Ngodwana was then reset for 13 March - but, again, was not heard because the council adjourned to consider two amendments to the motion of no confidence.
The ANC made the amendment that the party with the most seats should occupy the mayor's seat.
It holds the most seats.
The DA brought the amendment the council should dissolve, and residents vote in a new council during the national elections in May.
The ANC have since dropped its amendment, and the DA will need a two-thirds majority to dissolve the council.
During the sitting, they asked the speaker whether she could produce evidence she had sought legal advice, which she said she would do.
Tshivhenga said she would produce it at an "appropriate time", although the DA did not believe she saw a lawyer.
This article has been updated to reflect that the speaker survived a vote of no confidence in her.
