PA’s 2026 elections warning: Gayton McKenzie party hurts ANC in Soweto, Swellendam
The PA now commands 11 councillors in the City of Johannesburg, solidifying its position as a major kingmaker in the coalition government.
The Patriotic Alliance (PA) has delivered a seismic shock to the African National Congress (ANC) following the 15 October 2025 by-elections, demonstrating its growing potency and setting the stage for the 2026 Local Government Elections (LGE).
The party’s victories in key wards – snatching a seat in Soweto, City of Johannesburg, and securing its first-ever ward in Swellendam, Overberg District Municipality in Western Cape – confirm its aggressive strategy of intensive groundwork is eroding the established order.
In Johannesburg Ward 29 (Diepkloof Noordgesig), PA councillor Ismael Steenkamp won the seat previously held by the ANC, securing 30.46% of the total votes cast. This victory saw the PA beat the ANC by 454 votes.
This win is particularly significant as the PA focused heavily on Noordgesig, a predominantly Afrikaans-speaking coloured community, where the party’s vote share surged from 38% to an overwhelming 75% at Noordgesig Primary. Meanwhile, the ANC’s vote share here collapsed from 11% to just 6%.
The PA now commands 11 councillors in the City of Johannesburg, solidifying its position as a major kingmaker in the coalition government.
In the Western Cape’s Overberg region, Julian Matthysen secured Ward 6 in Swellendam, delivering the PA its historic first win in that municipality with 50.69% of the vote.
Gayton’s Ground Game Ahead of 2026 elections
The PA’s recent success is attributed to its hardline stance on issues like illegal immigration, championed by party leader Gayton McKenzie, combined with a strategy to campaign in communities where larger parties have failed.
McKenzie, known for his controversial style, highlighted the focus on local outreach, stating: “When they were busy lying about us, we were busy working, when they were writing bad headlines, we were busy writing up people. X [Twitter] is not real life, your opinion is yours only. We are here now”.
This dedication to ground work is reflective of the PA’s meteoric rise since its formation in 2013. After receiving dismal results in the 2014 (13,263 votes) and 2019 (6,660 votes) national elections, the party became the country’s sixth-biggest party in the 2024 general election, securing nine seats in the National Assembly and 10 seats across provincial legislatures.
They also earned the title of the “breakout party” of the 2021 local elections, winning more than 80 seats nationwide. The recent by-election wins solidify the PA’s growing ambition to thwart both the ANC and the Democratic Alliance (DA) in the upcoming LGE 2026.
Political Funding Transparency
In contrast to its growing political footprint, the Patriotic Alliance was not listed among the political parties that declared donations above the legislated threshold in the First Quarter Political Funding Disclosure Report for the 2025-2026 financial year. For perspective, the DA declared R32,229,474.29 in total funds, while the ANC declared R7,661,000.00 in the same quarter.
The victories in Soweto and Swellendam suggest that, regardless of the declared funding, the PA’s highly targeted campaigns are succeeding in reshaping local political dynamics ahead of the crucial 2026 local government polls, particularly in the Western Cape.