Cilliers Brink is not messing around in Tshwane

Cilliers Brink, the Democratic Alliance’s mayoral candidate in Tshwane, has launched an aggressive campaign which, according to the latest polls, is working.

This campaign stretches back to August 2025, when the Democratic Alliance announced that Brink was its Tshwane mayoral candidate.

He previously served as Mayor of the City of Tshwane. However, he was removed on 26 September 2024, following a motion of no confidence passed in the city council.

The motion was brought by the ANC and supported by ActionSA, the EFF, the Patriotic Alliance (PA), and smaller parties.

The Democratic Alliance (DA), Freedom Front Plus (FF+), and African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) voted against it.

Brink has unfinished work, and his aggressive campaign shows that he wants to regain the mayoral seat in South Africa’s capital.

On 1 May 2026, he launched the DA’s election pledges for Tshwane at the Mamelodi West Community Centre.

• Fire corrupt officials and tenderpreneurs and hire honest, hard-working professionals.

• Restore law and order by deploying crime-fighting technology including drones, CCTV cameras, and a metro police control room.

• Upgrade electricity, water, roads and public lighting through private partnerships.

• Use assets like municipal power stations, the fresh produce market, and the Wonderboom airport to attract investment and create jobs.

• Work with well-organised local communities to make neighbourhoods clean and safe.

“These pledges are practical commitments that will deliver measurable improvements in the daily lives of residents,” Brink said.

“It is a credible plan to restore service delivery, rebuild infrastructure, root out corruption, fight crime and get Tshwane working again.”

Cilliers Brink’s aggressive campaign

Brink is running an aggressive election campaign, spanning social media, outdoor advertising, physical events, TV and radio interviews, and podcast appearances.

He dominates billboard and street pole advertising. There is no political party which comes close to his exposure when driving around in the city.

Brink is not scared to cause a stir. He erected and promoted a billboard attacking the ANC and ActionSA, saying they “spent R777 million on water tankers”.

“Under the ANC-led coalition, R777 million was spent on water tankers while the Klipdrift Water Treatment Package Plant stalled,” Brink said.

ActionSA and others hit back, but Brink was not deterred and continued with his campaign against the parties which are now running the city.

He is also not afraid to support all people in Tshwane communities, ranging from black voters in Mamelodi and Lenasia to conservative Afrikaners.

For example, on 25 August 2026, he joined a night patrol through Sunnyside with black DA members and the community.

On the same day, he announced that former FF+ Tshwane Caucus Leader and Regional Chairperson, Grandi Theunissen, had joined the DA.

One would have expected animosity between Brink and the Freedom Front Plus (VF Plus) after Theunissen left the party for the DA.

However, Brink joined VF Plus mayoral candidate Willie Spies to support the new Akademia campus development a few days later.

Brink is seen everywhere, and he is gaining the support of communities across the City of Tshwane. The results are seen in recent polls.

A poll by the Social Research Foundation (SRF) shows the Democratic Alliance leading in Tshwane with 43% support among likely voters.

An Ipsos poll, released on 4 September 2026, also showed that the DA is leading in the City of Tshwane with 31%, well ahead of the ANC’s 22%.

According to these polls, Cilliers is the frontrunner in the Tshwane mayoral race, showing that his election campaign is hitting the spot.

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Cilliers Brink campaign photos

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