CAPE TOWN – Four senior ANC Western Cape officials and councillors have crossed over and will now be donning royal blue, as their defecting to the DA was announced on Wednesday afternoon (5 November).
The former ANC cohort comprises the party’s provincial secretary Neville Delport, regional executive member Jason Donn and sitting ward councillors Daniel Baadjies (Langeberg) and Paul Strauss (Cederberg).
The announcement comes ahead of the highly anticipated 2026-’27 Local Government Elections.
The walkover was announced during a press conference at Sun Square Hotel in Gardens, Cape Town. Late on Tuesday afternoon (4 November), the DA issued a statement that it would make an “important announcement about new political developments”.
‘More to come’
The press briefing was led by DA Federal Council chairperson Helen Zille along with DA Western Cape leader Tertius Simmers.
In a statement released after the announcement, Zille said the four politicians’ defection to the DA is just the start of “a process that will gather momentum in the months ahead”.
“This is a milestone moment, and it mirrors the swing in support by South African voters who continue to abandon the ANC to support the DA,” Zille pointed out.
This is an example of the realignment of politics in South Africa.
Zille further said support of ANC, once the overwhelming majority ruling party in the country, is in declining countrywide. “In the Western Cape, [the support of the ANC] is in terminal decline,” she said.
“In contrast, DA support continues to grow and momentum is building behind the DA’s offer to reform South Africa’s economy, grow jobs for all and replace BEE.”
The ANC in the Western Cape is yet to comment on its former members’ crossing over to the DA.
At the polls
A date for the 2026-’27 municipal elections is yet to be announced by Velenkosini Hlabisa, the minister for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs.
However, during a briefing in Pretoria on Tuesday, deputy chief electoral officer Masego Shiburi, said the IEC is ready for South Africans to head to the polls on the first Wednesday in November 2026, although no date has officially been proclaimed.
“If the minister determines a date later in November, early in December, or sometime in January, we will adjust our plans,” Shiburi said.
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