• The Western Cape has seen a strong voter turnout of 58.34%.
• The EFF and ANC remain optimistic and claim to have made gains in rural areas and townships, while the DA said it was encouraged that the party had taken the early lead.
• The candidates said they were impressed by the commitment of voters who waited for hours to cast their votes.
• Track the latest results via our Elections Map.

Western Cape opposition parties believe the strong voter turnout in the province will go in their favour and boost their chances of eating into the DA’s majority.

The Electoral Commission of South Africa placed the Western Cape’s voter turnout at 58.34% on Thursday afternoon. In the previous provincial election, the voter turnout was 66.05%.

EFF provincial chairperson Unathi Ntame said he was pleased with the early results and believed the party would grow in the province.

He added the EFF was seeing strong support in rural areas and townships.

Ntame claimed several wards had been snatched from the ANC in the Cape metro.

“We’re comfortable as the EFF with our performance in the Cape.”

Ntame added he believed the DA would see significant losses.

“The DA is under siege,” he said.

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In the ANC camp, members were hoping to regain the support they had lost. 

ANC provincial treasurer Derek Appel said the party was “on the board” and “where [they] wanted to be”.

He added glitches at the polling stations had impacted voting and might have prevented some voters from making their mark.

Appel said anecdotal evidence from the province’s townships indicated some voting stations opened late, causing some voters to leave.

“It’s a tale of two cities in the Western Cape. The DA brags about delivering services. But we must be honest, when we go where the majority are living, there are no services,” he added.

The Patriotic Alliance (PA) was confident it had convinced voters to support it.

PA provincial chairperson William Farmer said the party was not expecting such a good turnout, adding on Thursday morning, the party had the third most votes in the province.

He added the PA managed to secure some former DA wards.

“It’s good, and I think we’ll secure more as [voting] progresses.”

GOOD secretary-general Brett Herron said he had been encouraged by voter turnout despite the long queues and late voting at some Western Cape stations.

“The issues at the voting station were the introduction of a third ballot and the voter management devices. The process took too long and frustrated many voters.

“But I think we must be encouraged about how many voters were prepared to stand in the lines for six, seven hours. That’s very encouraging,” added Herron.

READ | PROJECTION: DA likely to retain control of Western Cape, but with a reduced majority

DA Western Cape premier candidate Alan Winde told News24 the voter turnout bodes well for the party, especially after such a highly contested election.

“It was a long, hard campaign, but people coming to vote is good news,” he said.

Winde added while some voters experienced frustration after queuing late into the night, he had been encouraged by the dedication voters had shown in staying to cast their votes.

“The people were amazing. They were committed to our democracy. I thought they would be more angry, but they weren’t,” he said.

Winde added while it was still too early to say exactly how well the DA had done, it was encouraging to see the party take the early lead.

He said there had been promising results in Beaufort West, with several wards being won from the PA.