Voters' daily lives at stake as DA closes gap on ANC

The margin is 1.2 points. National polling now places the Democratic Alliance at 28.4 percent, just behind the ANC on 29.6 percent, and for the first time in South Africa’s democratic history the prospect of the DA overtaking the ANC as the country’s largest political party is described as something within reach rather than a distant ambition.

For residents, this contest is about the towns and cities they live in. Municipalities deliver the services people depend on every day, and the DA frames the local government elections on 4 November as a referendum on whether South Africa can move beyond what it calls the failures of the ANC and the instability of chaotic coalitions, and instead build municipalities that work, deliver reliable services for all, create an environment for investment and jobs, and put honest, accountable government at the centre of public life.

The polling figures point to an unusually competitive contest. With the gap between the two parties so small, the DA says the final outcome will be determined by the choices South Africans make at the ballot box. The party also believes it is on track to emerge as the largest party in many of the country’s major metros, and that if its voters turn out, it could achieve majorities in many places.

A strong performance on 4 November, the party argues, would do more than position the DA to lead governments in more municipalities. It would lay the foundation for the DA to become South Africa’s largest political party nationally in 2029.

The party itself published the reference for this shift at https://www.da.org.za/2026/10/da-within-1-2-of-overtaking-anc-as-south-africas-largest-party, describing the moment as a historic political breakthrough and saying the ANC’s decades-long dominance is collapsing.

In its messaging, the DA presents itself as a credible alternative that can govern, deliver and get municipalities working for all, pointing to its own record in the areas where it governs as evidence of what is possible. It says it is competing to win in every community, and that South Africans are ready to place their confidence in a party with a proven record of delivery.

Meanwhile, the party’s broader framing is that this election is about more than which party finishes first. It is, in the DA’s words, about demonstrating that South Africa can move beyond the failures of the ANC and the instability of chaotic coalitions, and about building municipalities that work for the people who depend on them.

For ordinary residents, the practical question is whether the places they live can deliver the basics. The DA’s closing message speaks directly to that: on 4 November, it says, a DA vote can get more of South Africa’s towns and cities working for everyone than ever before.

The party describes the country as entering a new political era, one in which the DA is closer than ever to becoming the largest party and in which, it argues, the opportunity for change has never been greater. Whether that assessment holds will be settled by voters, and the margin, according to the polling, is now narrow enough that turnout itself may decide the outcome. What the numbers make clear is that the contest for control of South Africa’s municipalities, and with it the delivery of the services residents rely on, has become one of the most competitive in the country’s democratic history.