Independent Democrats leader Patricia de Lille has sent out 6 500 SMSes to councillors across the country urging them to defect to her party, according to one of her MPs, Avril Harding.
The defection window starts for municipal councillors runs until September 15.
Harding said the messages urging the councillors to join the ID will be sent to all the 8 951 councillors nationwide from all political parties during the window period.
He said his party expects ”between 20 and 30” councillors to join the party and acknowledged that the ID expects about seven — of the total of 200 — in the city of Cape Town.
De Lille polled strongly in the Western Cape, and in particular in Cape Town, in the April national and provincial poll. At present she has no city or town councillors as her party was only established last year — after the floor-crossing period that led her to leave the Pan Africanist Congress.
Harding said the Cape Town councillors expected to join the ID will be from the New National Party — whose national leadership have opted to join up with the African National Congress. — I-Net Bridge