DA unveils 70 candidates to challenge ANC-held wards in Tshwane

By Akani Nkuna

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Gauteng on Tuesday unveiled 70 ward councillor candidates who will contest wards currently held by the ANC in the City of Tshwane.

DA Tshwane mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink said the party had completed a rigorous selection process to identify candidates with a strong understanding of township challenges and the ability to improve service delivery.

“Township communities have suffered for far too long under ANC councillors who fail to address service delivery challenges in their wards and seem more concerned with water tankers than water flowing from taps,” Brink said.

The DA launched the first phase of its Tshwane ward candidates at an event in Mabopane, north of Pretoria, and unveiled a campaign billboard outside Morula Sun as part of its 2026 Local Government Elections campaign.

Brink expressed confidence about the party’s prospects in township areas, citing the DA’s recent by-election victory in Evaton and what he described as a more than 220% increase in support during by-elections in Mamelodi last year.

He said the results reflected changing political attitudes among voters and demonstrated that the ANC could no longer regard any area as a guaranteed stronghold.

Brink urged residents to back the DA in next year’s municipal elections, promising improved service delivery, reliable water supply, better roads and a crackdown on corruption.

“The 2026 local government elections will give residents the opportunity to experience the difference a DA ward councillor can make as part of a DA-led government that will get Tshwane working again,” he said.