The DA in the Eastern Cape has set its sights on dramatically increasing its support in four “battleground” municipalities in the Sarah Baartman district in the upcoming local government elections. In a wide-ranging interview ahead of the party’s Eastern Cape congress in February, provincial leader Andrew Whitfield said theDAwas targeting the Makana, Dr Beyers Naude and Blue Crane Route municipalities, along with its stronghold in Kouga where it was consolidating its grip. He said the DA had identified these municipalities as key battlegrounds as the party looked to expand its footprint in the Sarah Baartman district.
Without revealing numbers, Whitfield said the DA’s membership in the province was the highest it had ever been. As political parties gear up to woo voters ahead of the local elections, the DA also believes it can make inroads in the Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality, while positioning itself to emerge as the largest party in Nelson Mandela Bay, now run by an ANC-led coalition. The DA and ANC were neck and neck in the Bay in the 2021 local government elections, each attaining 48 council seats.
The ANC is the majority party in the Makana, Blue Crane Route and Inxuba Yethemba local municipality councils and runs the Dr Beyers Naude municipality through a coalition. The DA, meanwhile, held on to its majority in the Kouga council after a closely contested by-election in November. Whitfield confirmed on Thursday that he would stand for a second term as the party’s Eastern Cape leader.
Read Full Article on Daily Dispatch
[paywall]
The DA will hold its elective congress in Gqeberha on February 27 and 28. Whitfield said the party was stronger than it had been in years, having emerged from what he described as its most volatile period. This followed the departure of its former Eastern Cape leader, Nqaba Bhanga, who returned to the ANC in May 2024, as well as the resignation of Mmusi Maimane as DA party leader in 2019.
[/paywall]
