DA mayoral candidates set sights on toppling ANC dominance in Gauteng metros

The Democratic Alliance (DA) mayoral candidates for Gauteng’s top municipalities have declared that their primary objective ahead of the municipal elections is to overtake the African National Congress’s (ANC) vote share.

The candidates were speaking at the DA’s Federal Congress in Midrand, where the party is set to announce its new leadership on Sunday. The incoming leadership has been tasked with ensuring the DA expands its footprint in the upcoming local government elections.

With the DA currently positioned as the second-largest party across all three of Gauteng’s metros, party leadership asserts that surpassing the ANC is the next major milestone.

Tshwane mayoral candidate Cilliers Brink acknowledged that while coalition governments are becoming a permanent fixture of the political landscape, the DA must secure the mandate to lead these multiparty arrangements.

"We have to make the Democratic Alliance the biggest party in our country. Voters must show up and they must know who they are voting for. And the DA is also taking responsibility to stabilise coalitions in the country," Brink said.

READ: DA Federal Congress: Kayser-Echeozonjoku says local government perspective is important

In Ekurhuleni, mayoral candidate Khathutshelo Rasilingwane argued that the metro is in desperate need of a change in governance, calling on voters to move toward the future.

"We must be the generation that refuses to remain in the past. We must be a generation that takes back everything that has been stolen from us," Rasilingwane stated.

"In this election, we are going to show the ANC that we are more than cheap T-shirts and expired food parcels."

While parties ramp up their campaigns, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) noted it is still waiting for Cooperative Governance Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa to announce the official date for the municipal elections.