City of Johannesburg Mayor Mpho Phalatse has accused chair of chairs Colleen Makhubele of trying to carry out a "corrupt coup" after the latter issued a notice for an extraordinary meeting of council.

Phalatse said Makhubele had no authority to call such a meeting.

Makhubele called the meeting following her self-appointed role as City of Joburg speaker after the multiparty government speaker Vasco da Gama was ousted in a motion of no confidence last week.

According to the mayor, the office of the city manager will urgently interdict the notice.

"We trust that the courts will lay this sordid affair to bed, which is a blight on our democratic order.

"We call on all councillors and residents who believe in the rule of law and democracy to reject this orchestrated 'by any means possible' attempt at capturing the City of Johannesburg," said Phalatse.

Phalatse called the notice a "subversion of the rule of law" and said the multiparty government would not allow an illegal sitting of council to take place.

"The Johannesburg multiparty government notes with great concern and outrage the notice for an extra-ordinary sitting meeting of council, which was issued by the chair of chairs... who has also fraudulently referred to herself as the 'acting speaker of council'. Councillor Makhubele has no authority to call such a meeting," she said.

"We wish to again state that the Office of the Speaker is currently vacant. Therefore, in terms of the law, the day-to-day administrative functions and operations of the council fall under the care of the secretary of council, and only the city manager can call for a sitting of council."

She said according to the Municipal Structures Act, only council could elect a speaker, "which has not happened".

"Equally, there is no designation of deputy speaker, nor can someone wake up one day and crown themselves the acting speaker - this must also happen through an election.

"Democratic processes are being thrown to one side in a desperate attempt to forcibly grab power. What councillor Makhubele and her allies are doing is nothing short of a corrupt coup and a subversion of the rule of law. The Johannesburg multiparty government will not allow such a sitting to take place outside the bounds of the law."

Parties within the multiparty government have also expressed a will to table a motion of no confidence in Phalatse at the council meeting, which has been set for month-end, unless the extraordinary meeting is allowed to take place sooner.

Meanwhile, Makhubele said, according to the law, "whenever the speaker is absent, the chair of chairs becomes speaker". Regarding her interpretation of the law, she believed she could legally act as speaker if the speaker was absent for 14 days.

Makhubele spoke to Radio 702's Clement Manyathela on Wednesday.

"The idea is to buy time and delay the meeting [of council, where a motion of no confidence in the mayor can be tabled]. That's why the city manager has not called for a meeting to sit [but they can call for a sitting within] 72 hours."

She also claimed she was "truly not interested in being speaker".

Her political party, Cope, has since distanced itself from her actions and apologised to its voters.

Makhubele is the only member of Cope in the multiparty government in Johannesburg.