By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Geordin Hill-Lewis on Thursday, 05 November 2026, at noon declared a win for his party in Cape Town and the only metro with an outright majority.
South Africa is headed into coalition country without a workable framework to govern a power-sharing arrangement. The Coalitions Bill has been tabled in Parliament but could take years to actually trundle through Parliament.
The official data showed that the DA had 60% of votes in Cape Town from those counted so far.
Declaring a win for the DA in Cape Town, Hill-Lewis thanked everyone who voted DA.
“We won,” he said on the back of DA number-crunching projections. Hill-Lewis said the DA grew in Cape Town’s townships of Langa, Gugulethu, Khayelitsha, Mfuleni and Delft.
He cited Ward 98 in Khayelitsha where “200 votes last time (grew to) 1,200”. He was speaking opposite the Western Cape IEC results centre, surrounded by supporters.
While official final figures from the IEC are still being finalised, Hill-Lewis noted that current trends indicate a unique positioning for the metro.
“It looks like if current trends continue, Cape Town will be the only city in the country with a majority government,” he said.
By contrast, he expects that most other major South African cities will head toward coalitions, expressing confidence that many will ultimately be DA-led coalition governments.
He framed the Cape Town result as a model blueprint.
“What we have been doing in Cape Town… is about showing our country what is possible in South Africa – that despite our huge challenges, we can move forward.”
Hill-Lewis acknowledged the socioeconomic challenges that persist within the municipality and rededicated his team to improving living conditions for vulnerable residents.
The party secured 58.3% with 1 062 086 votes in the city in the November 2021 Local Government Elections (LGE), retaining control of the municipality.