This is where the DA has the most support in every province
With the 2016 Municipal Elections three months away, BusinessTech looks back on the 2014 elections to see where the country’s official opposition party – the DA – has the most support.
The Democratic Alliance was formed in 2000, but has roots in the white-led democratic opposition to the National Party. Through a number of splits and mergers over the decades, it has morphed into the DA.
Support for the DA has grown significantly over the years, as it shifted into a largely multi-racial political group – though the party has struggled to shake the moniker of being a “white party”, having secured the vast majority of white votes in the country.
The party’s politics are rooted in liberal ideals, with centrist economic policies. It stands in contrast to the EFF which is hard-line communist, though it is not completely free-market, including things like affirmative action, BEE and land reform in its manifesto.
Read: These are the EFF strongholds across South Africa
As the official opposition to the ANC, the DA has the strongest showing out of all non-ANC parties in every province except Limpopo (where the EFF is the official opposition) – retaining the controlling vote of the Western Cape.
The Western Cape is the party’s home base, where it has 57.3% of the vote – with the strongest showing in the Swartland municipality (65.9%).
The party’s weakest showing is in Limpopo, where it has only 6.6% of all votes – the strongest showing in the Bela municipality, with 18.5%.
In the 2016 Elections, the DA has set its sights on three major metros – Tshwane, The City of Joburg and Nelson Mandela Bay, where the party is creeping up on the ANC’s majority.
- In Tshwane the party got 31.32% of the vote in 2014 (vs 50.9% for the ANC)
- In CoJ the party got 29.76% of the vote in 2014 (vs 53.63% for the ANC)
- In Nelson Mandela Bay, the party got 40.16% of the vote in 2014 (vs 49.17% for the ANC)
The table below details the provinces where the DA has most support – and the municipality in each where it performed the best in 2014.
| Province | % of the vote | Municipality | % of the vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Cape | 57.26% | Swartland | 65.92% |
| Gauteng | 28.52% | Midvaal | 49.55% |
| Northern Cape | 23.36% | Hantam | 37.36% |
| Free State | 16.24% | Metsimaholo | 24.65% |
| Eastern Cape | 15.87% | Kouga | 49.87% |
| KwaZulu Natal | 13.35% | uMngeni | 30.45% |
| North West | 12.59% | Tlokwe | 31.10% |
| Mpumalanga | 10.04% | Steve Tshwete | 20.53% |
| Limpopo | 6.60% | Bela | 18.51% |
The 2016 Municipal Elections will take place on 3 August 2016.
More on the DA
DA deals with racists in the party, the ANC doesn’t – Cachalia
Watch: DA’s Maimane on losing support and the threat of Julius Malema
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