Patriotic Alliance's rise in Western Cape by-elections concerns DA leader

DA leader John Steenhuisen has called for an urgent review of the party's recent losses in the Western Cape by-elections, where the Patriotic Alliance (PA) successfully captured two wards on Wednesday.

He expressed concern over the PA's increasing strength in the region, noting that this trend contrasts sharply with the party's performance in other provinces, where they have managed to retain their wards.

“It's something I'm deeply concerned about, and it's something which we have to interrogate as a party. We have to ask why in a province where we govern and in municipalities we govern, people are voting for other parties,” he said.

He made the comment when he had an engagement with the parliamentary journalists’ Press Gallery Association in Cape Town on Thursday.

This happened a day after the DA lost two wards during the by-elections in George on Wednesday.

Steenhuisen noted that the DA has been able to see off the PA in the Eastern Cape and Gauteng.

In a rhetorical question, he asked what was unique to the Western Cape that was holding his party back from being able to hold up the tide in the province.

“It is linked largely to more rural parts of the Western Cape, the east and west regions. The PA has not been able to crack the metro yet, so I think it is a phenomenon,” he said when he answered himself.

Steenhuisen also said there were municipalities where they govern in the province’s east and west regions that are at risk.

“We'd better get to the bottom of this as a party. I'll be asking the FedEx (Federal Executive) to have a session to interrogate why it is that in this province of the Western Cape, we're not able to stem the tide when we're doing it in the Eastern Cape, in Gauteng, and other provinces.”

Despite the PA snatching their two wards in the Western Cape, Steenhuisen remained optimistic about the party’s prospects in the future.

“Remember, by-elections are never really a true barometer because often if a local dynamic is playing out, you also have parties able to focus all of their resources in one direction that they're not necessarily going to be able to replicate on a national election footing.”

However, an optimistic Steenhuisen said the DA was a party that had done the best in the last by-elections across the country.

“Obviously, the Western Cape by-elections are a concern, and I would be failing in my leadership responsibility if we didn't start to interrogate why it is that voters in the east and west regions of this province are turning to parties like the Patriotic Alliance,” said the Minister of Agriculture.

Steenhuisen added that they will focus on making sure that they prevail going forward.

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Cape Argus