By Akani Nkuna
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will launch its 2026 Local Government Elections manifesto on 8 August, with national campaign manager Ashor Sarupen saying the party aims to capitalise on the ANC’s declining support to secure control of more municipalities, particularly metropolitan councils.
Speaking at a media briefing in Cape Town on Tuesday alongside deputy national campaign manager Werner Horn, Sarupen said the DA’s long-term goal remained to become South Africa’s largest political party by 2029.
“It is no secret that the DA seeks to win local authorities away from the ANC and, by 2029, to overtake the ANC and become South Africa’s largest party,” he said.
“We are encouraged to see growing support for the DA and the consistent decline in ANC support.”
Sarupen said the party’s internal modelling showed the ANC was on course to lose about 500 council seats in the November local government elections, opening opportunities for the DA in nearly 100 municipalities.
“Our modelling and research is generally watertight, and currently our modelling shows that, at today’s support levels, the ANC is on track to lose approximately 500 council seats,” he said.
He said the DA would intensify its campaign to position itself as the preferred alternative to the governing party.
The party’s manifesto will be launched in Johannesburg, with Sarupen describing Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal as the key electoral battlegrounds where the DA expects to make significant gains.
He said candidate selection processes were progressing ahead of schedule and that the party was on track to exceed its organisational targets.
Sarupen argued that years of poor governance and what he described as a succession of “terrible mayors” under the ANC had created an appetite for political change, particularly in Johannesburg.
He said DA mayoral candidate Helen Zille was well placed to lead the City of Johannesburg because of her experience and governance record.
“I think that the DA has put forward Zille as the best option for Johannesburg, precisely because of her track record, because she will clean up corruption, because she will get her hands dirty and because she will give that city and its administrative team the kind of decisive leadership that will begin to rescue its finances,” he said.
Sarupen dismissed concerns about Zille’s age, saying Johannesburg required an experienced leader capable of confronting corruption and organised criminal networks operating within the city.
“If those corrupt mafias are allowed to continue unchecked, there is a risk that the city may never recover,” he said.
Horn said the DA’s campaign would also focus on addressing declining voter turnout, which he attributed to growing voter fatigue.
He said the party planned to engage voters who traditionally stayed away from the polls because they believed politics had little impact on their daily lives.
“The reality is we need to also reach voters whose lives do not turn on politics, because their votes will be equally important come the 4th of November,” Horn said.
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