LOCAL ELECTIONS 2026: DA needs FF+, Knysna Civic Association to govern troubled coastal town
Southern Cape tourism hub Knysna remains a hung council, as the DA failed to make sufficient gains for outright control in the 4 November local elections. The seaside town is one of the 19 councils, representing some three-quarters of the Western Cape’s 25 councils, where the DA on Friday afternoon, 6 November, was in the lead but not in control.
Southern Cape tourist hotspot Knysna remains without a governing majority following the 4 November local elections. The Democratic Alliance (DA) narrowly missed securing outright control, failing to amass sufficient votes for a decisive lead. Currently, the DA holds nine of the 21 council seats, trailing the African National Congress (ANC) by a single seat.
The party secured its additional seat on the back of a 9.97% increase in its vote share from the 2021 election, which saw the DA win 10 seats alongside Cope's one. The party now trails the ANC by one seat, the Patriotic Alliance (PA) with six seats, and six single-member parties, including the South African Communist Party (SACP), EFF, and Freedom Front Plus (FF+).
Depending on coalition negotiations, a combination of the DA, FF+, and the Knysna Civic Association could take control, but a coalition of everyone except the DA and FF+ could also achieve the necessary 11 seats for control.
Similar scenarios played out in other coastal Western Cape municipalities, such as Beaufort West and Saldanha Bay. In Saldanha, the DA obtained 49.11% of the vote, slightly higher than in 2021 but still short of an outright majority. The PA, which holds six seats, is the second-largest party, followed by the ANC with four. The SACP gained a seat in the council.
In this 31-member council, the coalition dynamics favor the DA, which could achieve a majority in cooperation with the FF+, but this is not guaranteed. A previous coalition partner of the DA, the FF+, fell out with the party after complaints that the coalition's views were not heard on the budget or other council-related matters.
The DA currently governs outright in several key economic hubs across the Western Cape, including Stellenbosch, Drakenstein, Hessequa, Bergrivier, Swartland, Overstrand, and Mossel Bay. In George, the DA won 50.26% of the vote, securing 28 of the 55 council seats, but still fell short of an outright majority, with the remaining 27 seats distributed among other parties. The final results for Cape Town's five district councils are pending, though the DA initially declared victory on projections.
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