DA loses by-election to the Patriotic Alliance as results signal coalition, claim parties
THE Patriotic Alliance (PA) snatched a George ward from the DA with an overwhelming victory in this week’s by-elections.
The party won ward 8 with 63% votes followed by DA at 33%, ANC 2% and EFF 2%. The ward was up for grabs after a DA ward councillor resigned from the party.
The DA managed to retain ward 10 in a hotly contested by-election in Theewaterskloof, Grabouw with 550 votes which represents 28%, GOOD Party followed with 26%, PA 21%, ANC 19%, EFF 3% and PMC 2%.
These results, according to Brett Herron, the Good Party secretary-general, signalled that Western Cape must prepare itself for a coalition government as the “old two-horse race is at an end”.
“The two old powerhouses of South African politics, the ANC and DA, could only muster a combined 48% of the vote in Theewaterskloof by-election.
“The big loser was the DA which shed nearly half its support, dropping from 51% in 2021 to 28% in just three years. By-elections are not always the most accurate predictors of results in general elections, but Wednesday’s Theewaterskloof result very graphically demonstrated that the Western Cape is not exempt from the political realignment under way in the rest of the country. The result of the Theewaterskloof by-election didn’t fall from the sky; it is part of a downward trend for the old parties over the past several elections,” said Herron.
ANC Western Cape secretary-general Neville Delport said the by-elections results in Theewaterskloof and George reflected the DA’s continued decline among voters in the province.
“While the ANC was unable to win ward 10 in Theewaterskloof from the DA and we are fully cognisant about the need for improvement, we grew by 104 votes from our 2021 elections total of 259 votes.
“We therefore welcome our continued steady growth among the electorate of the Western Cape. In George, we will do more to rebuild our structures in various wards, especially ward 8.”
DA provincial leader Tertuis Simmers said: “The DA is listening to the voters in ward 10 and we are thinking about what we have heard so that we can better communicate with voters about their future and about the dangers of self-serving government, and about the advantages of good governance with service delivery that works and benefits all. When voters tell us to try harder, we will try harder, until we have those voters working with us to better the lives of all where we govern. Our mission is to rescue South Africa, and on Wednesday the majority voters of ward 10 on the day reaffirmed they support this mission.”
Political analyst Dr Ntsikelelo Breakfast said the DA losing an award does not imply that this will be a trend everywhere.
“That would be a wrong line of thinking. Yes, one party dominance is a thing of the past but coalitions can also be a mess.
“I believe to make coalitions flourish we would need a framework that would be institutionalised so that these parties don’t just pull out from arrangements and they abide with what they agreed to.
“In many cases we have seen them collapsing causing challenges. GOOD (Party) is just being ambitious if they say the Western Cape must prepare itself for a coalition-led government,” said Breakfast.
Stellenbosch University’s School of Public Leadership director, Professor Zwelinzima Ndevu said: “While at local level the DA seem to be losing ground, I think we will see a different picture in the upcoming elections. Because of the new political parties, the independent candidates will see almost all parties losing ground for various reasons.”
He said with the difficult road ahead, the DA could still win the Western Cape with reduced votes.