DA confident of retaining Cape Town in 2026 municipal elections

The Democratic Alliance (DA) remains confident of winning the 2026 Local Government Elections (LGE2026) in Cape Town, despite predictions of a shift towards coalition politics and concerns about losing its majority. According to party officials, they plan to rally their voter base for another outright win.

DA Campaign Manager and Chairperson of the DA Federal Council, Ashor Sarupen, along with deputy campaign manager Werner Horn, spoke to the media about how their campaign is going. Sarupen said the party is confident in retaining control of the City of Cape Town if they can mobilise their supporters.

"Contestation is always the point of democracy, and so, we will meet them at the polls. We're confident that with the work we've done, both in government and as a political machine, that we will be able to turn out our supporters disproportionately, and if we can get every single DA supporter in the country out there to vote, I believe that we will have nothing to worry about," Sarupen said.

"In terms of polling, of course, the DA will never speak publicly about its internal polling, but we are doing everything that we can to ensure that we hold the City of Cape Town, that we hold it very strongly, and that, for yet another five years, the City of Cape Town will be firmly in DA hands without anything to worry about; provided that every single DA supporter in Cape Town pitches up to vote," he said. "I don't think that we will have a problem. We have just got to turn out our supporters."

Sarupen added that in any election campaign, there are things that they would want to do better, "but I think we have run the most professional campaign in our party's history".

"We have completed all of our work to meet critical deadlines well in advance. We were the first parties with our registration posters up in the country, amongst others, and we are on track to be the first, on many, many things that are milestones in the election campaign. So in that sense, it's going very, very well," he said.

"The challenges in any election campaign have always got to do with logistics and training of activists and field workers and so on, and we started that process already in August last year, to be able to make sure that we have an army, a blue machine, and we've been building this blue machine up to become the largest party on the ground in South Africa over a period of time," Sarupen said. "That is one of our many objectives. We have worked very, very hard to make sure that we make the right investments."

ActionSA’s Parliamentary Leader, Athol Trollip, who spoke during a media briefing on the rating of the successes and failures of the GNU, said that the era of majority-party rule is done.

"Majorities are not birthrights in democracy. No political party in this country has a birthright to have a majority or to govern. We've seen the ANC lose their majority. We're going to see the DA lose its majority in cities, and in this province, and that's fine. It's absolutely fine, because democracy is to involve everybody," Trollip said.

"Some people love the DA in this city and it governs well for them; other people in the city don't like the DA, and it doesn't come in for them. We are going to lose majoritarianism in this country in the local government elections. We are going to have to work together. We're going to have to learn to work better together," Trollip said. "But political parties, especially the big ones, must understand it's not a birthright, and people are going to hold them to account."

Brett Herron, the GOOD Party’s candidate for Mayor of Cape Town, said during his announcement address that false binaries continue to define the city and hold residents hostage after more than thirty years of democracy. "Black or white. African or coloured. Suburbs or Cape Flats. Rich or poor. ANC or DA. 'Us and them' must be left in the past where they come from," Herron said.

Herron said that residents must commit to the principles of humanity, the affordability crisis, and confront inequality. He also said, "We anticipate that Cape Town will be governed by a coalition government."

Frequently asked questions

What is the DA's strategy for winning the 2026 Local Government Elections in Cape Town?

The DA plans to mobilise and turn out their voter base to achieve an outright win. Campaign Manager Ashor Sarupen said they aim to get every single DA supporter to vote, and they have been building up their ground organisation since August of last year to ensure they have the largest party presence on the ground in South Africa.

Why does ActionSA believe the DA will lose its majority in Cape Town?

ActionSA's Parliamentary Leader Athol Trollip stated that the era of majority-party rule is over in South Africa. He argues that no political party has a birthright to govern, pointing to the ANC's loss of majority as evidence, and predicts the DA will lose its majority in cities and the province due to changing democratic dynamics.

What kind of government does the GOOD Party expect in Cape Town after the 2026 elections?

GOOD Party mayoral candidate Brett Herron anticipates that Cape Town will be governed by a coalition government. He called for residents to move beyond binary divisions such as ANC versus DA, and to commit to principles of humanity, addressing the affordability crisis, and confronting inequality.

How has the DA assessed the professionalism of their election campaign so far?

Campaign Manager Ashor Sarupen said the DA has run the most professional campaign in the party's history. He noted they completed work to meet critical deadlines in advance, were among the first parties with registration posters up, and have been building their ground organisation since August to prepare field workers and activists.

Source: iol.co.za