The DA has urged the electorate not to “waste” their votes on smaller parties vying for control of eThekwini, the only metro in KwaZulu-Natal, before next month's local government elections.
The party says that squandering votes on smaller parties will mean the handover of the metro to the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party).
“What the polling shows is that the DA is now the only party big enough to stop an MKP mayor in eThekwini, which would be disastrous for the city and its residents which has suffered so much already. The polling also shows that no other party will be big enough to challenge the MKP to make any meaningful difference. This is because only a party that qualifies to be on the executive committee can be considered to elect a mayor. No small party will make this hurdle,” DA KZN chairperson Dean Macpherson said.
Macpherson was referring to a recent Sabi Strategy Group poll that shows the MK Party, led by former ANC president Jacob Zuma, has 43% of the electoral support in eThekwini and the DA 30%. The poll results also shows that the once-governing ANC will bleed votes and reach a meagre 11%.
Macpherson said that considering the distance between support for the DA and the MK Party was so narrow, a vote for a small party would embolden the MK Party.
A poll Ipsos conducted showed the MK Party in the controlling seat in the metro before the 4 November municipal elections, with 55% of the vote. The DA was polled at 17%, the ANC 10% and the IFP 6%.
The DA has fielded Haniff Hoosen as its mayoral candidate while the MK Party named apostle Mxolisi Phakathi as the municipal political head.
Other parties who have lined up big guns include the IFP who announced its member of parliament and deputy minister of transport, Mkhuleko Hlwenga, as its candidate vying for the mayoral chain.
The ANC has chosen to retain current mayor Cyril Xaba.
The MK Party will be contesting the municipal elections for the first time since its formation in 2023. The party went on to become the biggest party in KwaZulu-Natal, with just over 44% of the electoral support in the 2024 provincial and national elections. The party also attained 2.3 million of the national vote share, giving the party 58 of the 400 seats in the National Assembly.