Parties accuse DA of ‘jumping the gun’ with Cape Town victory claim

Independent Electoral Commission provincial electoral officer Michaels Hendricks at the province's Results Operations Centre.

Political parties poured cold water on the DA after it declared an early victory in the City of Cape Town before the results were declared by the Independent Electoral Commission.

This after DA leader and mayoral candidate Geordin Hill-Lewis led a mini-celebration on Thursday, November 5, 2026, with party supporters outside the IEC Western Cape Results Operations Centre at Century City while the electoral body was still capturing the results from the voting stations.

“Based on our own collection of data for al the voting stations, we can project that our results in the City of Cape Town will be around 58%,” Hill-Lewis said.

Provincial Electoral Officer Michaels Hendricks said the DA was within its rights to hold the mini-celebrations.

“There is nothing in the code of conduct that deals with holding of such a gathering,” Hendricks said.

He also said people can make their own projections on the election results.

“As far as the IEC is concerned, ‘we work on the results. We don't do forecasts,” Hendricks said.

Freedom Front Plus mayoral candidate Erika Botha-Rossouw said it was shocking that the DA had gone ahead to make its declaration when the results were not finalised.

“I am surprised by the arrogance of people celebrating as if they are winners. We say as Freedom Front Plus, we would like to always do better and be the best. We will not celebrate before we have the results,” Rosssouw said.

GOOD Party chairperson Matthew Cook said the DA’s announcement was reckless and bordered on arrogance.

“We should respect the IEC,” Cook said. “The arrogance and attitude of the DA has completely undermined the IEC. ;Itis absurd for a party to jump the gun and make this sort of announcement. The declaration of results rests with the IEC,” he added.

ANC spokesperson Sifiso Mtsweni said they dont believe the DA performed the way it claimed considering the outsnaidn results still to be captured and audited by the IEC.

“They are just jumping for joy when it is still early days. We are noting the results and a right time we will issue a statement,” Mtsweni said.

The DA’s declaration took place as the IEC was finalsing counting at one of the voting station in Khayelitsha.

Addressing the media at 2.30pm, Hendricks said they have captured 4040 results slips from the Western Cape municipalities and the City.

“As at 2pm we were at 65% of our results slips being captured and audited. We are making progress,” he said.

“We are capturing Hendricks also said they have sent a team to assist with counting of votes in Ummangaliso Primary School voting station at Ward 191 in Khayelitsha.

The IEC’s results board showed that 38% of votes were counted and four seats allocated in the City of Cape Town as at 5pm.

The DA was leading with 60.57% votes, followed by the ANC with 10.7%, Patriotic Alliance 3.95%, Freedom Front Plus 3.36% and National Coloured Congress 3.03%.

The EFF had recorded 2.88%, ActionSA 2.66%, GOOD Party 2.34% and ACDP 1.41%.

While it was early to make any conclusion on which parties were winners and losers, ActionSA mayoral candidate Dereleen James said she was pleased with the results and hoped that they stayed the same or shot up for her party.

James noted hat her campaign in the City started only four months ago.

“I am extremely proud of our volunteers and all those who supported us. It is clear ActionSA has definitely won the hearts sand souls of the residents of Cape Town,” she said.

“For us now, it is to win over their trust, and who knows in the next elections what await us. I hope it says like that, or shoots up and it definitely does not go down,” said Dereleen.

Mtsweni said the capturing of results was continuing.

“Our areas have not yet been counted in Khayelitsha, all of them. We intend to increase our base. By the time the announcement is made, it should give an indication of where we are standing,” Mtsweni said.

Both the ANC and GOOD Party noted the voter turnout in the City.

Mtsweni said the turnout has been low not for the ANC but for all parties that contested the elections.

“It  fluctuates from area to area. There have been areas where it has been high. Most are hovering around 40 and 50% and others are below. It is a trend across the country,” he said.

Cook said there had been massive differentiated voter turnout between the suburbs, Cape Fats and informal settlements.

“That will impact the results. There are parties that are strong in certain areas. We wit to see how that pans out, but we have seen growth in certain areas,” he said.

“We have seen the suburbs are warming up to our message that Cape Town has unaffordable housing, a housing crisis and that needs to be addressed,” Cook said.

He acknowledged that  in their traditional support areas there had been contestation.

 “We have seen the rise of parties that are polarising with messages that go directly for specific demographic groups.”

He added that it was shocking that the Cape Flats and informal settlement, where the services are desperately needed and should be delivered, recorded low voter turnout.

 “For us it is indictment of people most need services and changes the most they have given up. Essentially they have handed government to a party that does not suffer in the same way they do and will continue to do the same thing,” said Cook.