Veteran politician Abel Tau is now Mayoral candidate for the United Progressive People’s Alliance (UPPA) in Tshwane ahead of the 4 November 2026 Local Government Elections.
Tau quit MK Party on 31 July this year and has now joined forces with the UPPA to win the Mayoral position in the City of Tshwane Municipality.
He was the MK Party’s Gauteng Spokesperson until his resignation.
Tau once acted as Mayor of Tshwane in 2019 before joining ActionSA where he served as MMC for Human Settlements in the City of Tshwane but was expelled from that party under dubious circumstances in 2022.
He then joined MK Party in 2024 until he jumped ship to be Mayoral candidate of UPPA
At a media conference held in Tshwane on Wednesday to announce his mayoral candidacy, Tau described his decision to accept the position as a significant milestone in his journey as a politician, patriot and above all as a son of the City of Tshwane.
He emphasised that his political journey should not be defined in terms of the numerous parties he has been associated with, but with the principles he stands for.
“You can fault me for many things but you can never fault me for my convictions,” he enthused.
“I don’t believe in creating storms internally in any organisation because I believe that the role that one has to play is that of a unifier,” he said.
He contrasted UPPA’s approach with what he described as the dominance of large political parties whose interests are often aligned with the interests of the corporate sector.
“Big parties such as the ANC and the DA represent big corporates while we represent the ordinary man and woman in the street,” said Tau.
He revealed that a fully-furnished two-bedroom house would be built within the next six weeks for one of the families which were badly affected by recent outbreaks of fire in Tshwane.
“With passion and empathy we can change the lives of our people and UPPA and its legions of supporters has an opportunity to go into communities to tell a story of a Tshwane that can be better for future generations and I believe in non-racialism, meritocracy and a South Africa that works and local government leadership should be about people who live with our people and understand their daily challenges,” he said.
“I am actually a founding member of the UPPA and this occasion can be described as a reunion of like-minded people who share a common interest to take Tshwane forward,” said Tau as he in the process said he left MK Party as it has failed to show a commitment to change the lives of the people of Gauteng for the better.
“There is presently no MK Party manifesto to develop the people of Gauteng and I don’t think MK Party will even contest the local elections here in Gauteng; I think I was under-utilised in that party, so I made a decision to invest my time in the City of Tshwane and fortunately I have brothers and sisters in the UPPA with whom I can work together for the people of Tshwane, because our people need us,” explained Tau.
“As UPPA we are quite fresh from the box; we do not bring any bargage from wherever; we do not carry ghosts from the past and we believe that we are better placed to start moving forward,” he enthused.
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