The DA is gaining ground, but governing will demand more
JOHANNESBURG — The DA’s municipal election gains have strengthened its claim to govern several major cities, but the party’s next challenge is securing agreements that allow it to exercise that authority. Leading the count gives it bargaining strength. In councils without an outright majority, it still needs partners willing to support its candidates, budgets and programme.
At the 08:43 update on 7 November, dashboard of IEC results showed the DA with approximately 3.54 million proportional representation votes, or 24.6%, with 98.4% of voting districts reporting nationally. On the same ballot measure in 2021, it received approximately 2.55 million votes, or 21.7%. The provisional increase is therefore visible in both its vote count and its share of support. These figures refer specifically to PR ballots, rather than combined municipal ballot totals.
The improvement deserves recognition without overstating its scale. On that same measure, the ANC has fallen from 46.1% in 2021 to a provisional 31.1%. The DA has narrowed the gap considerably, but its gain of roughly three percentage points is much smaller than the ANC’s decline. The governing party’s losses are spreading across a fragmented political landscape rather than producing a straightforward transfer of support to the DA.
Stronger in the cities, dependent on partners
The metropolitan picture explains why the DA can nevertheless regard this election as a significant opportunity. eNCA’s provisional results dashboard showed it leading in Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay, alongside majority support in Cape Town. Those positions create several possible routes into government, although a lead below 50% does not establish control of a council.
That difference is particularly important in Gauteng. The DA may emerge as the largest party in a metro while remaining unable to govern without substantial support from rivals. ActionSA’s performance gives it negotiating weight of its own, and its interests cannot simply be treated as an extension of the DA’s ambitions.
For voters, the relevant outcome is an administration capable of surviving beyond its inauguration. A coalition that agrees on a mayor but repeatedly splits over budgets, appointments and service priorities would leave the underlying problem unresolved. The DA’s ability to negotiate durable arrangements is therefore part of its governing test.
Johannesburg exposes the difficult choices
Helen Zille has identified ActionSA or the ANC as her preferred coalition options in Johannesburg, arguing that an agreement between two parties would be easier to manage than one involving numerous smaller partners. That is a negotiating preference, not confirmation that either party has agreed to support her mayoral bid.
A smaller number of partners could simplify decision-making, but the substance of an agreement would still determine its durability. Partners would need to settle responsibilities, resolve disagreements and protect administrative decisions from recurring political disputes. Two parties can produce an unstable government if those foundations are weak.
An ANC agreement would also require a clear explanation to voters who supported the DA because they wanted a change in municipal leadership. Cooperation is possible without abandoning accountability, but the party would need to show what would change, which standards would apply and how failures would be addressed.
DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis has said signed coalition agreements would be published. That commitment would allow residents to assess whether negotiated promises become action, provided the agreements contain clear obligations rather than broad statements of goodwill.
Winning confidence must extend beyond the campaign
The results demonstrate electoral growth, but they do not by themselves explain why each voter chose the party. Confidence in its governing record, dissatisfaction with incumbents, candidate appeal and turnout could all contribute. Claims about a permanent realignment would require more detailed evidence than national totals provide.
The more useful test will come where the DA takes office. Improvements must be visible across the municipality, including communities that did not vote for it. Reliable services, transparent spending and consistent responses to residents would provide stronger evidence of broader governing credibility than campaign claims alone.
There is also a danger in allowing the scale of the ANC’s decline to obscure the limits of the DA’s own mandate. The party has strengthened its position, but much of the electorate continues to choose alternatives. Building agreements with those parties requires recognising their mandates while maintaining enforceable standards for government.
The DA enters negotiations with a stronger electoral base and substantial opportunities. Whether this becomes a lasting advance will depend on the administrations it helps establish, the compromises it can defend publicly and the improvements residents experience before the next election.
Readers can follow the latest available election results through TownPress’s live dashboard, available across the website, or visit our Election Results and Results Breakdown pages. Results remain provisional until officially declared by the IEC.
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