Nelson Mandela Bay Executive Mayor Gary van Niekerk is likely to stay put after the municipality indicated it would not oppose an interdict aimed at keeping him in place as the leader of the coalition government.

The leader of the National Alliance and the current holder of the disputed Nelson Mandela Bay executive mayor position, Gary van Niekerk, said on Monday he was confident that he would still be in charge after Wednesday when an urgent court application will be heard to stop the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) from removing or replacing him.

Last week, city manager Dr Noxolo Nqwazi declared Van Niekerk and his fellow National Alliance councillor Stag Mitchell's seats in the council to be vacant. By law, these positions must be filled within 35 days.

Nqwazi's letter declaring the seats vacant came in response to a letter written by a rival faction in the National Alliance, which claimed that Van Niekerk and Mitchell had been expelled from the party. The party, however, has two sets of leaders, both with a following and both claiming to be the legitimate leadership.

Van Niekerk's chief of staff, Vasu Padayachy, said they had received a notice from the municipality that it would abide by an interdict to stop the IEC and the municipality from changing councillors. However, the municipality will oppose the second part of their court case to review the legality of Nqwazi's decision...