The Western Cape is proving to be the main battleground of the upcoming local government elections, with parties making a fierce play for support.
And if recent by-elections and a string of defections are anything to go by, the run-up to voting day is fast becoming a three-way fight between the DA, the PA and the ANC.
The PA has been unashamedly raiding the DA for councillors, while the latter has been working just as hard recruiting from the ANC to make up for its losses.
But that scramble has come with plenty of backroom manoeuvring, as promises of better pay and senior posts are put on the table when councillors are persuaded to cross the floor.
Nowhere has the poaching been clearer than in George.
In October, DA mayoral committee members Marchell Kleynhans and Brendon Adams resigned from the party to join the PA.
Their resignations triggered by-elections in Wards 17 and 27, both previously held by the DA. The PA went on to win both wards, taking close to 60% of the vote in one and more than 50% in the other.
The result shifted the balance of power in the 55-seat George council and cost John Steenhuisen’s party its slim governing edge in the coalition it runs with the Freedom Front Plus and the ACDP.
Shortly afterwards, DA chief whip and Ward 11 councillor Theresa Jeyi also resigned from the DA and crossed to the PA.
Nationally, the PA also scored when former DA MP Liam Jacobs left the party last year to join it, giving Gayton McKenzie’s party a high-profile young recruit as it looks to grow its footprint in the province.
The political instability has not been limited to George.
In Saldanha Bay earlier this month, acting mayor Charmaine Laubscher resigned from the DA and joined the PA while serving as deputy mayor and acting mayor following the resignation of DA mayor André Truter.
Her defection left the council without both a mayor and deputy mayor at the same time.
But the DA has been recruiting in the opposite direction.
Just this week, George ANC ward councillor Jarques Esau also left the ANC to join the DA.
In November, former ANC Western Cape provincial secretary Neville Delport resigned from the ANC and joined the DA. He was followed by ANC councillors Daniel Baadjies, Paul Strauss and Jason Donn.
Banele Majingo, the former ANC caucus leader in the City of Cape Town resigned from the ANC and joined the DA in March 2025.
ANC insiders said the steady stream of departures has been causing resentment inside the party, particularly among some non-African groupings who feel their numbers are shrinking as colleagues leave for the DA.
Sources said tensions are rising as talk of further possible defections continues to circulate.
In a leaked message circulating among party members, claims have emerged that a mass resignation of ANC councillors in the Victor Molosi Region could be imminent.
The Victor Molosi Region is the ANC’s regional structure covering much of the Garden Route in the Western Cape, including municipalities such as George, Knysna, Bitou, Oudtshoorn, Hessequa and Kannaland.
According to the message, as many as 15 councillors across the Garden Route are said to be on the verge of walking out.
The figures being shared list one councillor in Bitou, four in Knysna, five in George, two in Oudtshoorn, one in Hessequa and two in Kannaland.
The message claims the looming exits are driven by deep frustration with the Victor Molosi regional leadership.
Councillors, according to the message, are described as feeling attacked and undermined rather than supported, with the region allegedly gripped by internal power struggles.
It further alleges that several councillors have already opened discussions with the PA and could cross the floor if there is no immediate change in leadership direction.
The veracity of the now-viral message could not be independently confirmed at the time of publication.
ANC Western Cape spokesperson Sifiso Mtsweni said rumours would always be hurled around, especially in the run-up to elections.
He said when the ANC poached Majingo, the party was told he was going to bring a host of other councillors from the City of Cape Town with him.
“Up until today, only Majingo has left,” he said. “He has not left with any other councillor. So, these rumours will always be there at local level — but in actual fact there has never been a mass exodus.”
He said the PA has taken from the DA. “It is not here to take from the ANC,” he said.
He also responded to the DA erecting a billboard in Khayelitsha with Majingo’s face plastered on it, reading: “Owaye yinkokheli ye-ANC eKapa ukhetha i-DA … nawe unako!”
A rough translation of what is written on the billboard, which was unveiled on Wednesday, is: “Cape Town’s ANC leader chooses the DA. You can too.”
“That billboard is a pathetic attempt at reviving their battered image,” Mtsweni said.
“We condemn the use of the ANC’s name on a DA billboard.
“We have never used the DA in any of our material and we do not think it is in line with the electoral rules for the DA to use the ANC’s name on their billboard.
“But we also understand that it is just desperation.
“It is a pathetic desperation, and it is going to do nothing to change their fortunes, particularly in Khayelitsha.”
Western Cape DA metro chair JP Smith said the party was not concerned about what he described as noise around defections, arguing that movement between parties was normal during candidate selection season.
Smith said while attention had focused on councillors leaving the DA, the party was also seeing new members join from the PA, the EFF, the ANC, the National Coloured Congress and the Freedom Front Plus.
He said the timing of recent departures was linked to the DA’s candidate selection process, which is currently under way.
“This is the time when certain people’s hopes become dashed,” he said, explaining that some members realise they will not secure the nomination they had hoped for and decide to leave.
He said the DA’s process was rigorous and transparent, involving written exams, interviews and performance assessments, and that not everyone who applied would make the cut.
Smith argued that other parties would face similar instability once their own nomination processes were concluded, as “disappointed hopefuls reconsider their political futures”.
Responding to criticism from the ANC, which reportedly described the DA as a “dying horse”, Smith rejected the claim and pointed to polling trends.
“Our polling is growing, their polling is shrinking,” he said, arguing that the ANC was steadily losing ground and would continue to lose wards in the upcoming local government elections.
PA national spokesperson Steve Motale said the party’s recent gains reflected growing support across the province and SA.
“We are humbled by the support we are receiving in the Western Cape and across the country, a growth that makes the PA the fastest growing party in the country,” he said.
“In the Western Cape, we are now attacking George, Saldanha Bay and Drakenstein and we will turn our full attention to the City of Cape Town.
“Many councillors and ordinary South Africans are joining the PA because our policies like mass deportation of all illegal immigrants resonate with them.”
He said the DA was alive in polls but in ICU on the ground.
“We are confident we will do very well in the upcoming local government elections,” he said.
“Unlike many parties, we started our campaign many months ago.
“We are the first political party that announced its mayoral candidates. These were announced last year already and as part of consolidating our election campaign, we have deployed national executive committee to all nine provinces.
“As far as our recruitment campaign is concerned, many councillors are joining the PA voluntarily mainly due to our policies that are attractive and relevant to our country’s challenges.
“We are aware of baseless claims that have been made by our rivals, in particular the DA, accusing us of buying their councillors. These claims are baseless and far from the truth.”
Political analyst Professor André Duvenhage of North-West University said the recent defections reflect a broader reshuffle taking place ahead of the elections.
“What we are currently seeing is a pattern of individuals defecting from one party to the other and that has to do with their prospects in terms of their view of what may happen in a future election,” he said.
“As we have seen some ANC members choosing the DA, some DA members choosing the PA.
“It’s all about positioning your own interest with regard to the party you believe you will have the best opportunity getting positions of power.
“So yes, there is a bit of a reshuffling in the build-up to elections. It has also to do with the reconfiguration of the political spectrum that is taking place at the moment and that was prominent since the 2024 elections.”
Political analyst Zweli Ndevu said it was not surprising to see the hype about local government as the elections are only a few months away.
“It is promising to see parties working hard to displace traditionally strong holds of their opponents,” he said.
“The important thing is to ensure that a political party keeps the momentum until the election day.
“It would seem that the PA is doing well in the space but the big question will they continue with the growth or was it a misplaced hype?
“Time will tell as it is still a long time before the elections and anything can happen.”
The 2026 local government elections will be held between November 2 and January 30 2027.
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Brandon Nel
iol.co.za