PA gives the DA another major shock

The Patriotic Alliance (PA) continues to erode the Democratic Alliance (DA)’s support, taking another ward from the DA in the George Local Municipality, Western Cape.

This comes weeks after the PA took two wards off the DA in the January 2026 by-elections, making it its fifth by-election ward win in George since 2021.

Now, the PA is the third-largest party in the Garden Route town’s local council with six seats, and three 2026 by-election wins giving it strong momentum going into the upcoming local government elections.

The by-election held on 11 February saw the PA, DA, African National Congress (ANC) and TRUTH compete.

The PA got 1,873 votes (65.26%), the DA 983 (34.25%), ANC 10 (0.35%), and TRUTH 4 (0.14%). In this ward, the PA previously got 22%, DA 46% and the ANC 1%.

Independent election analyst Wayne Sussman said that the “win is better for the PA than the PA’s two ward pickups in January 2026.”

Firstly, the PA won over GOOD, Plaaslike Besorgde Inwoners (PBI) and ANC voters, largely from the first two who did not contest.

“The PA turned out new voters who sat out the last by-election, and the PA won over a chunk of DA voters,” said Sussman.

The ward was left vacant after the DA’s Theresa Jeyi defected to the PA. However, Jeyi was not selected as the PA’s candidate for the ward, with Naellowine Esau being chosen.

The PA’s momentum

The PA has emerged as a major disruptor in local politics ahead of the 2026 municipal election season, steadily flipping wards previously held by the ANC and DA.

Its momentum has been driven by key by-election wins across provinces, including a breakthrough in George in January 2026 where it won two seats in one night.

In Conville/Rosemoor, the PA’s support surged from about 1% to 60%, dealing a major blow to the DA.

The party also recorded a significant Gauteng victory in Noordgesig, Soweto in late 2025, defeating both the ANC and DA, while also expanding beyond the Western Cape by winning a seat from the ANC in Kou-Kamma in the Eastern Cape.

Additional gains in areas such as Swellendam have further weakened the DA’s rural dominance.

These victories have stripped larger parties of outright majorities in municipalities such as George and Cederberg, and increased the PA’s leverage as a coalition kingmaker.

Nationally, the party went from a mere 7,029 votes in the 2019 general elections to 330,425 in 2024, propelling them to Parliament with nine seats and securing its President, Gayton McKenzie, as Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture.

In an interview with SMWX, Tessa Dooms, a sociologist and co-author of Coloured: How Classification Became Culture, frames the PA’s rise as a response to the long-standing marginalisation of Coloured identity in post-apartheid South Africa.

She argues that the ANC and DA have often treated Coloured communities as peripheral or “swing” voters, while the PA positions Coloured identity as central, filling a gap where people have historically felt politically orphaned.

Additionally, hardline rhetoric and, in particular, its firm stance on immigration and service delivery, has been a major driver in attracting supporters, particularly in the Western Cape.