Some political parties in WC pleased with campaign efforts, electoral process

JOHANNESBURG - Several political parties in the Western Cape have reflected on the 2024 elections.

A hundred percent of the province's votes were finally captured and the results centre officially shut down.

Another five years of Democratic Alliance (DA) governance are in store for residents of this province, with the party bagging over a million votes.

The party's Grant Twigg said, "We are very happy and we'd like to thank the electorate. What the DA will be doing is just continuing what we've been working on for the last five years and improving the lives of the people of the Western Cape."

The African National Congress (ANC)'s Muhammad Khalid Sayed said that the party is disappointed that the province will be governed by the DA for another five years.

"We are not extremely disappointed in the fact that firstly, we have no regrets around the campaign. In the process of campaigning, we have also heard from our people, what they would like to see in terms of service delivery here but also nationally, so many lessons for us."

The Patriotic Alliance (PA) came in third in the province, with just over a 153,000 votes and its Cape Regional Secretary, Cheslyn Steenberg said they will hold the governing party to account.

"I think it's really an exciting time as well to have the Patriotic Alliance at the decision-making table where we influence legislation on a national level and also on a provincial level. Right now, at the top of our agenda, would be to ensure that where we govern, the red tape is done away with so that businesses can thrive and jobs can be given to people so that food can be placed on people's tables."

Meanwhile, the Western Cape’s only independent candidate, Zackie Achmat only received a little over 10,000 votes.

"I think we've run a fantastic campaign. There's a lot of things we could have done better but I think our campaign has done well. What worries me more is what's happening in the rest of the country.

"I do not want Jacob Zuma to rule the country again because if the ANC goes into coalition with the EFF [Economic Freedom Fighters] and uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, it effectively means that Zuma is running the country."