DA gains black voters, declares Cape Town win

Daily Maverick · Marianne Merten · 2026-11-05 20:08 UTC

DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis on Thursday at noon declared Cape Town a win for his party, and the only metro with an outright majority. Key Cape hinterland towns of Stellenbosch and Paarl (Drakenstein) remained in DA control, while in 14 other councils the DA was the leading party.

Declaring an outright victory in Cape Town with an expected 58% of the vote on Thursday, 5 November, DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis focused heavily on the party’s breakthrough gains among black voters.

“One of the most exciting results for the city – over and above the overall results, we can now say without hesitation it will be the best result we have ever achieved in Cape Town’s townships for the DA,” said Hill-Lewis.

Boosting performance in township wards and among black South Africans more broadly has been elusive for the DA. The party long realised that without this support it would not achieve its national political ambition beyond Cape Town, the Western Cape and selected areas in KwaZulu-Natal.

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