DA dominates Western Cape as PA emerges as main challenger
The DA said that the local government elections have been an important turning point for the party - retaining municipalities, reclaiming wards from opposition parties and making inroads in historically non-DA communities.
Lindsay Dentlinger
DA early victory celebration at the ROC in Century City. Pictures: Jared Moorgas/EWN
As the DA celebrates its dominance in municipalities across the Western Cape, the Patriotic Alliance has emerged as its immediate rival in several of those municipalities, bumping the ANC out of the way as the second-largest party.
The DA said that the local government elections have been an important turning point for the party - retaining municipalities, reclaiming wards from opposition parties and making inroads in historically non-DA communities.
However, with 16 hung councils, and the DA the leading party in most of them, they will have to choose alliance partners to bring stability in governance to these councils.
By the slimmest of margins, the DA has won an outright majority in George to bring to an end years of coalition councils.
It also snatched a ward from the ANC, and another from the PA.
Here the PA is the second largest party, and the ANC third.
The DA has also grown its support in Oudtshoorn, increasing its seats from 7 to 10 but with 37.7 per cent of the vote - still not enough to govern outright.
Here the ANC is the second largest party, followed by the PA.
Despite the growth in Knysna, and taking two wards from the ANC, the DA has fallen short of a majority, with the ANC and PA again rounding out the top three parties.
Aside from the City of Cape Town, the DA has retained its majority in seven councils, including:
• Berg River
• Drakenstein
• Hessequa
• Mossel Bay
• Overstrand
• Stellenbosch
• Swartland
The Patriotic Alliance is the only party other than the DA to emerge as a leading party in a Western Cape municipality, narrowly missing a majority in Prince Albert.
It’s beaten the ANC as the second-largest party in Matzikama, Cape Agulhas, Swartland, Saldanha Bay, George and Berg River municipalities.