 scored two decisive victories against the Democratic Alliance (DA) in George, while the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) mounted a serious challenge to the DA in a traditionally safe suburban ward in Tshwane.){kind=link}
By Johnathan Paoli
In the first by-elections of 2026, the Patriotic Alliance (PA) scored two decisive victories against the Democratic Alliance (DA) in George, while the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) mounted a serious challenge to the DA in a traditionally safe suburban ward in Tshwane.
While the DA retained its Tshwane seat, the results exposed new vulnerabilities, particularly in suburban and peri-urban areas, and highlighted the PA’s growing ability to consolidate disaffected voters in the Western Cape.
In Tshwane’s Ward 57 (Lyttleton Centurion), the DA held onto the seat with 53% of the vote, down from its previous 59%.
The FF+ surged to 44%, almost tripling its earlier support of 16%, while the ANC collapsed to just 2%. Voter turnout dropped to 21%, compared with 50% at the last comparable election.
The by-election followed the death of the sitting DA councillor after a long illness, and was contested without the EFF and ActionSA, both of which opted not to stand.
Despite retaining the ward, the DA endured a significant scare.
The FF+ won both Lyttleton voting districts, narrowly beating the DA at Laerskool Louis Leipoldt and securing a convincing margin at Lyttleton Primary School.
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It was the more diverse and historically competitive De Hoewes voting district that ultimately saved the DA.
There, the party built a buffer of 375 votes, enough to secure a narrow overall victory by 270 votes.
The FF+’s performance in the heart of suburban Lyttleton will be viewed as a major morale boost for the party, signalling its ability to challenge the DA directly in Afrikaner-heavy urban wards.
If Tshwane delivered a warning shot, George delivered a political earthquake.
The PA won two wards off the DA on the same night, extending a remarkable run of gains in the Garden Route municipality.
In Ward 17 (Conville–Rosemoor), the PA won a commanding 60% of the vote, up from just 1% previously, while the DA slumped to 38%.
The ANC finished a distant third on 2%, with turnout rising to 54%. The result followed the defection of DA councillor Brendon Adams, a mayoral committee member, to the PA.
The PA’s victory was built on a landslide in Conville, where it secured 65% of the vote and beat the DA by more than 500 votes.
Former Good and Plaaslike Besorgde Inwoners (PBI) supporters overwhelmingly backed the PA, while the party also succeeded in mobilising voters who had stayed home in previous local elections.
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Later the same evening, the PA secured its second win in George by narrowly capturing Ward 27 (Pacaltsdorp).
The party won 51% to the DA’s 49%, a margin of just 63 votes, in a high-turnout contest.
Once again, defections played a central role, with former DA councillor Marchell Kleynhans standing for the PA.
The PA’s strength in the Pacaltsdorp Primary voting district proved decisive, while the DA held a slim advantage at the St Vincent Pallotti Catholic Church voting station.
The outcome marked the PA’s third consecutive ward gain from the DA in George.
As a result of these early 2026 by-elections, the composition of the George council has shifted significantly. The DA drops to 25 seats from 27, while the PA increases its representation to five seats.
The DA–FF+–ACDP coalition majority has narrowed from 32 to 30 seats in the 55-seat council, leaving the governing arrangement more exposed ahead of further contests.
The next round of by-elections will be held on 3 February, when the ANC defends seats in Mogale City, Graaffwater and Bonnievale.
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