Chairperson of the DA Federal Council Helen Zille. (Candice Bezuidenhout/News24)

• DA federal chairperson Helen Zille believes the DA won’t be able to get over the 51% mark in Wednesday’s election.
• According to Zille, the DA is realistic about its chances as they do not “live in castles in the sky”.
• Find everything you need to know about the 2024 general elections on News24’s Elections Hub.

DA heavyweight Helen Zille says while the party would want 51% of the vote in Wednesday’s general election, it does not live in “castles in the sky”.

On Monday, the party’s federal chairperson was one of more than 137 558 voters in the Western Cape who cast their ballots as part of the first day of special voting. She was realistic about the DA’s chances in Wednesday’s election, which she says is the most important since 1994.

“This vote is enormously important because it might be the first time that the ANC will fall under 50%. It’s entirely predictable that they will never get beyond 50% again. It’s a watershed election,” she said, before casting her vote at Pinelands High School in Cape Town.

“The DA has been making steady strides because we are [the] strongest [opponent] against power abuse in South Africa. The more we grow, the more success our democracy can achieve. This is the end of era of ANC domination and the start of real checks and balances in place.”

READ | Party prep: SA gears up for biggest political week since 1994 as watershed general elections loom

Asked about the DA’s electoral chances at a national level, Zille said:

She added that she was confident that the DA would receive an overall majority in the Western Cape, but again warned people against voting for smaller parties.

“People must vote for who they want to. But if they want the rest of the Western Cape to look like Beaufort West, Knysna and Theewaterskloof, then they will start splitting their votes and vote for every small party and get the ANC in and get their towns destroyed within two years. That is what we have seen in Knysna and Theewaterskloof,” she said.

“It’s the voters’ choice. The small parties often result in very unstable coalitions. Most of them always vote with the ANC because the ANC has more gravy to slop around all over the place. What you have is tiny parties standing up and gathering their votes and, when positions are offered to them, they go to the ANC.

“They play extortion politics often. They will go to the ANC and say what are you giving us. They come to the DA and try to extort positions from us, but we say no. We don’t play that game.”