By Simon Nare
Four senior ANC officials have crossed the floor to the Democratic Alliance (DA) in what the blue party has described as a significant political realignment ahead of the 2026 Local Government Elections.
The defectors include former ANC provincial secretary Nevile Delport, regional executive member Jason Donn, and ward councillors Daniel Baadjies (Bonnievale) and Paul Strauss (Cederburg).
Their move to the DA was officially announced on Wednesday in the Western Cape.
Their defections come just weeks after the ANC disbanded its Western Cape Provincial Executive Committee (PEC).
DA Federal Council chairperson Helen Zille hailed the move as a milestone, saying it signalled a broader shift in South African politics.
“This mirrors the swing in support by voters who continue to abandon the ANC for the DA. It’s part of the ongoing realignment of politics in South Africa,” said Zille.
She added that ANC support in the Western Cape had been steadily declining, while the DA’s popularity continued to grow.
“ANC support is in decline across South Africa, and in the Western Cape it is in terminal decline. 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,” said Zille.
Once the majority party in the province, the ANC’s support dropped from 45% in 2004 to 32% in 2009, and further declined to 21% in the 2021 local government elections, when the DA retained its outright majority.
Recently, in a bid to revive its fortunes in the province, the ANC disbanded the PEC and replaced it with a task team.
ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula announced that former premier and US ambassador Ebrahim Rasool would serve as the convener of the interim structure.
Mbalula stressed that the reconfiguration was not a punitive measure.
“This is a proactive and corrective step to enhance the movement’s effectiveness in one of the most strategically important provinces of the Republic,” he said, as quoted by the Cape Times.
However, analysts believe the decision may have deepened internal divisions and contributed to the defections unveiled by Zille.
Reacting to the defections, the ANC downplayed the significance of Delport’s departure, describing the DA as a “right-wing organization” and defending its decision to reconfigure the provincial leadership.
“His departure confirms that those who hold such tendencies will not survive in a renewed ANC. The renewal of our movement is a deliberate act to cleanse it of opportunism, self-interest, and political convenience,” the ANC said in a statement.
The party further accused Delport of abandoning the principles of equality and justice.
“His decision to join a party that is anti-transformation, anti-justice, and indifferent to the suffering of Palestinians exposes the moral and political bankruptcy of those who abandon the cause of equality,” it said.
“His self-ejection validates that the ANC is on the right path — one that prizes principle over position and loyalty to the people over loyalty to privilege.”
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