The 2026 local elections in South Africa are shaping up to be a critical test for the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Tshwane, where the party's mayoral candidate, Cilliers Brink, is seeking to secure a majority. However, the growing support for the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) could complicate the DA's plans. In the 2021 local government elections, the FF+ more than quadrupled its vote share in Tshwane, rising from 1.99% to 7.87%. This growth has put pressure on the DA, which fell from 43.15% to 32.03% during the same period.
FF+ Tshwane mayoral candidate Willie Spies is making a comeback to politics after over 15 years in legal practice. Spies previously served as an FF+ MP from 2004 to 2009 and has become a prominent legal representative for AfriForum in several high-profile cases. He argues that coalition politics offers smaller parties more leverage than they had when South African politics was dominated by the ANC-DA binary. According to Spies, the decline in the ANC's dominance has created greater room for competing political views.
The FF+ has historically built much of its support around the interests of minority communities, particularly Afrikaners, and has been a vocal opponent of policies such as affirmative action and Black Economic Empowerment. Spies claims that the party's opposition is rooted in a rejection of racial politics, arguing that policies introduced to address the legacy of apartheid have instead entrenched racial divisions. The party has also sought to expand its presence beyond its traditional Afrikaner base, including by engaging with other minority communities.
Recent polls suggest that the DA is likely to remain the largest party in Tshwane, but may struggle to secure an outright majority. A September Ipsos poll puts the DA at 31% in Tshwane, ahead of the ANC at 22%, ActionSA at 11%, and the EFF at 9%. A separate poll by the Social Research Foundation (SRF) puts the DA at 43%, the ANC at 32%, the FF+ at 8%, ActionSA at 7%, and the EFF at 5%. These numbers suggest that a DA-FF+ coalition could be viable.
The growth of the FF+ has increasingly put it in direct competition with the DA for voters in areas where the two parties have historically drawn support from similar constituencies. Tshwane, Mangaung, and parts of Ekurhuleni are among the metros with sizeable Afrikaans-speaking voting blocs where the DA faces a "tremendous threat" from the FF+. In January's Ward 57 by-election in Centurion, the DA retained the seat, but saw its share fall to 54.2%, while the FF+ surged to 44.38%.
Spies' coalition ambitions centre on parties he believes share the FF+'s preference for a smaller state, deregulation, and greater scope for private-sector and community involvement. He describes the DA and FF+ as ideologically closer to each other than to other parties. The DA's Cilliers Brink has pledged to prioritise clearer rules, stronger partnerships, and principled coalition management to ensure stable governance and better service delivery.
The 2026 local elections in Tshwane are likely to be marked by intense competition between the DA and FF+, with the outcome potentially determining the course of the city's governance. The FF+'s growth has put pressure on the DA, and a coalition between the two parties could be a viable option. However, the ANC and other parties, including ActionSA and the EFF, are also vying for support, making the outcome far from certain.
Key points
- The FF+ is increasingly competing with the DA for voters in Tshwane, potentially denying the party an outright majority.
- A DA-FF+ coalition could be a viable option in Tshwane, with both parties sharing similar ideological views.
- The FF+ has grown significantly in Tshwane, rising from 1.99% to 7.87% in the 2021 local government elections.
