LGE 2026: DA reigns supreme in 5/25 Western Cape municipalities
This does not include the biggest voting bloc, the City of Cape Town, where the vote count is only halfway.
Lindsay Dentlinger
DA supporters gather at a campaign rally ahead of the 2026 local government elections, as the party expresses confidence in retaining its majority in the Western Cape and making gains in townships and rural communities. (Photo by Ilaria Finizio / AFP)
A blue wave continues to wash over the Western Cape, with the Democratic Alliance (DA) now having secured five of the 25 municipalities outright.
This does not include the biggest voting bloc, the City of Cape Town, where the vote count is only halfway.
The DA might be the leading party in 16 councils, but it has not attained an outright majority, meaning it will have to find partners to stabilise governance.
In the bag for the DA overnight are the Berg River, Swartland, Hessequa and Drakenstein municipalities.
On Friday morning, it has also added the George Municipality to the tally of majority-controlled councils.
It’s also emerged as the leading party in the Bitou Municipality in Plettenberg Bay, Knysna, Oudtshoorn and Beaufort West.
But as much as the DA is celebrating its dominance in the Western Cape, the number of hung councils has grown from 11 before this week’s elections to 15 currently.
Seventy-four percent of the provincial vote has been captured so far, and 50% in the Cape Town metro, although the DA already declared an early victory in the city on Thursday.