By PRETORIA — With just nine days to go before South Africa heads to the polls on November 4, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has framed the upcoming election as a historic turning point.
Speaking at the party’s final KwaZulu-Natal election rally in eThekwini on Sunday, DA Leader Geordin Hill-Lewis told thousands of supporters that the party stands within touching distance of achieving its most significant political milestone yet.
Drawing on newly released tracking data, Hill-Lewis asserted that the DA is within a few percentage points of overtaking the African National Congress (ANC) to become the country’s largest political party.
The momentum, according to the party leadership, is being driven by an influx of hundreds of thousands of first-time voters turning away from traditional allegiances in search of functional governance.
A Two-Horse Race in eThekwini
The political battlegrounds have sharpened notably in key economic hubs, none more so than KwaZulu-Natal. Positioning the provincial contest in Durban as a critical binary choice, Hill-Lewis warned voters that the city faces a stark fork in the road: a choice between a DA administration or an uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) mayor.
“Only the DA is big enough to stop this beautiful city from falling to the destruction of MKP,” Hill-Lewis told the cheering crowd, urging residents to consolidate their votes behind the party to secure stable leadership.
At the same time, the DA leader levelled sharp criticisms against political rivals nationwide. Pointing to governance failures elsewhere, he drew a hard contrast with the DA’s administrative record—highlighting metrics such as job creation and housing delivery in areas under its control, while condemning recent water safety scandals under opposition-led municipalities.
The Push for Outright Majorities
As the campaign enters its final stretch, the DA is placing heavy emphasis on stable governance and the avoidance of “coalition chaos.” Hill-Lewis argued that fragmented governments bogged down by political bargaining ultimately fail the citizen waiting for basic service delivery.
The party’s closing message to the electorate is clear: a push for outright majorities to guarantee accountability, job creation, and safer communities. With the political landscape shifting rapidly ahead of November 4, South Africa’s electoral map appears more volatile—and competitive—than it has been in decades.
