Cape Town's political landscape heats up as mayoral candidates emerge for 2026 elections
The Patriotic Alliance (PA) has been the latest party to announce its mayoral candidate, and it is Cheslyn Steenberg, who has already been representing the party in the City Council for a number of years.
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The date for the 2026 Local Government Elections is still pending, but political parties are already announcing their mayoral candidates and election plans.
The Patriotic Alliance (PA) has named Cheslyn Steenberg, a current City Council representative, as its mayoral candidate.
PA leader, Gayton McKenzie, said that when they first campaigned in the City, they had a different councillor candidate in mind for Kensington, but the secretary-general persuaded him to just meet a young man.
“I met Cheslyn Steenberg at the Waterfront for lunch. He was very nervous because his pals were sweating. We started talking, and I was hugely impressed.
McKenzie shared how Steenberg became the Chief Whip of the PA in council and will now campaign as the party's mayoral candidate in the highly contested Cape Town metro.
“Young people grow in the PA, Cheslyn is facing his biggest opportunity, which is the task to change the lives of our people on the ground.
Steenberg said that when he heard the announcement, he could think of no other thing than, “thank you, Lord, for breaking the generational barriers my bloodline is linked to”.
The African National Congress’s Secretary-General, Fikile Mbalula, announced the party’s election plans on Monday at Luthuli House, saying that they are in the process of finalising mayoral candidates for metros and secondary cities, a process expected to be completed by June.
Mbalula emphasised that the party has not hesitated to change mayors where leadership challenges or "ill-discipline" occurred, referencing instances where members voted with the opposition.
He added that they want the best candidates and are not scared to look beyond their current memberships.
He mentioned how for the City of Johannesburg, they want the public to tell them who they want to become the mayoral candidate.
“We are going to follow that same pattern. But our framework is very clear; we will go for the best, and we are not confining ourselves to who got elected,” Mbalula said.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) will announce their next wave of Western Cape mayoral candidates on Tuesday. The DA have already announced two groups of mayoral candidates.
It is expected that newly-elected DA Federal Leader, Geordin Hill-Lewis, will be retaining his current role and running as the party’s mayoral candidate. The party officials have previously said that they will make that announcement when they have completed internal party mechanisms.
While ActionSA’s Dereleen James has been on the ground in communities visiting Mitchells Plain and Bonteheuwel, the party has not yet made a formal announcement of its mayoral candidate.
The National Coloured Congress recently announced Ellen Pakkies as its Cape Town mayoral candidate. Pakkies said her mayoral bid is about fighting for the people of Cape Town’s forgotten communities.
Good Party said that they will announce their candidate when they are ready.