DA urges voters not to split support as De Lille defends small parties
DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis urged supporters to protect the party’s Cape Town majority, while GOOD leader Patricia de Lille defended voters’ right to back smaller parties and said coalition talks could follow the election.
As millions of South Africans went to the polls for local government elections, political leaders emphasized the importance of supporting their respective parties. DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis urged his supporters to vote en masse in the City of Cape Town, warning that the party's majority could be undermined if voters split their support among smaller parties.
"Progress takes many years to build up and can be destroyed in an instant," Hill-Lewis said. "That is why we are specifically calling on every single DA voter to please show up and vote today and to unite behind the DA and not split votes among those minority parties."
In response, GOOD Party leader Patricia de Lille dismissed Hill-Lewis's concerns as "nonsense," arguing that voters have the constitutional right to choose any political party. She stated that those who discourage support for smaller parties have been doing so since the days of the National Party and Democratic Party. De Lille also highlighted the potential for change through municipal and city elections, emphasizing that a strong vote can lead to the removal of elected officials.
De Lille acknowledged that coalition formations can be problematic, but she stressed the importance of respecting one another's viewpoints. She also mentioned that there is currently no legislation governing coalitions, and that agreements may not always be legally binding. De Lille pointed out that no single party secured a majority in recent elections, necessitating cooperation among parties to form governments.
Hill-Lewis suggested that the DA might consider forming a coalition with smaller parties in the future, similar to what they did in the 2000s. He expressed hope that it wouldn't be necessary, but noted that if the DA were to lead in multiple metros, it would be an extraordinary and historic moment. Hill-Lewis cautioned that while polls can have a margin of error, recent independent polls consistently placed the DA as the leading party in several South African metros.
Written by urgent.news from IOL's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
