The Patriotic Alliance (PA) has been accused of flouting the Electoral Commission of SA’s (IEC’s) code of conduct following a series of inroads in DA strongholds during municipal ward by-elections.
The PA has denied the allegations, saying they arose from the fact that the party was becoming a “headache” and an alternative to the DA, SA’s official opposition party, ahead of the provincial and national elections in 2024. Analysts have predicted the PA would be a significant role player especially in the DA stronghold of Western Cape.
Formed in 2013, the PA — led by the Central Karoo district executive mayor Gayton McKenzie — is slowly building a national profile. PA member Ebenezer Botha is the executive mayor of Beaufort West and it is also part of the ANC-EFF coalition running Joburg.
However, DA Western Cape leader Tertuis Simmers has accused the PA of foul play and vote buying during the by-elections, held at Swartland local municipality in the Western Cape on November 8, where the official opposition party retained its seat with 1,004 votes (37.4%), followed by the PA with 869 votes (32.4%), while the ANC mustered 453 (16.9%).
Elections analyst Wayne Sussman has said the PA’s performance in the Western Cape was a reminder that the political start-up “are going to be a factor in the province in the 2024 [general] election”.
While the DA retained its seat in Swartland municipality, Simmers said he was not happy with PA’s conduct during the elections. “In Swartland, the PA were dishing out beers to whoever they could find on the streets and there was a truck full of food parcels,” Simmers said, explaining that residents of the ward the parties were contesting for had high levels of unemployment, and people “are heavily reliant on social grants”.
“There’s an electoral code of conduct that parties sign in the lead up to the by-elections. It outlines that you can’t entice a voter by giving them misinformation about other parties, or by giving them gifts before and after voting,” he said.
Simmers said the PA had been giving people food parcels every time it contested a ward during by-elections. “This conduct has been going on for some time. They [PA] are playing dirty and flouting the code of conduct. This needs to be addressed because we have seen this in every by-election. We are going to engage the IEC. It makes one wonder whether the [PA] growth you see in Gauteng and Northern Cape is because of this [conduct],” Simmers said.
The PA has faired well in a number of by-elections held across the country so far in 2023. In February, the PA won a ward in the Cape Town metro with 1,321 votes (40.7%), and was trailed by GOOD with 773 votes (23.8%).
In June, the PA won ward 7 (Ennerdale) in the Joburg metro with 3,233 votes (46.8%), with the DA trailing behind with 241 votes (3.4%).
In July, the DA won two wards in George, Western Cape, with 2,144 votes (34.6%), with the PA winning a single seat with 1,398 votes (22.6%).
In October, the PA won a ward at Sol Plaatje local municipality in the Northern Cape with 1,620 votes (53.2%), while the DA received 227 votes (7.46%).
Speaking to Business Day, Kunene said: “The fact of the matter is the DA is losing support because it is servicing a rich constituency in the Western Cape and the people are now becoming aware that their votes are servicing the rich and not them.”
He said the townships of Gugulethu, Khayelitsha, Langa and areas such as Kraaifontein and Manenberg were neglected by the DA. “We are taking wards from them, the DA is losing support.” Kunene said other political parties also handed out food parcels to the indigent and to say the party was buying votes “is a lie, a lame, and childish excuse, because we are supporting indigent households”.
“The reality is that we have become very strong and the DA realises that come 2024, we will appoint a premier in the Western Cape, whether through an outright majority or by means of a coalition. We are giving them a headache because we are an alternative,” said Kunene.
In the 2014 provincial and national elections, the DA retained control of the Western Cape with 1.1-million votes (55.4%), down from the 59.3% it achieved in the 2014 general election.
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