Seven political parties entered the City of Cape Town council for the first time following the 2026 local government elections, bringing the total number of represented parties to 22. The Democratic Alliance (DA) retained control, winning 56.42% of the vote and securing 133 of the 235 council seats.
ActionSA emerged as the strongest newcomer with seven seats, marking a significant foothold in Cape Town’s political landscape. Other new parties gaining representation include the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the African Transformation Movement (ATM), each with two seats. The MK Party, BOSA, People’s Movement for Change, and Hopeful Leaders Democrats each secured one seat.
Herman Mashaba, ActionSA leader, praised his party’s performance, saying, “We are proud of the sterling performance by Dereleen James, literally without any budget, just TikTok. We are happy to be officially represented by 7 councillors in the Cape Town Council. Great foundation for the future.”
The SACP grabbed headlines by winning seven council seats across six Western Cape municipalities, including Cape Town. Benson Ngqentsu, SACP provincial secretary, emphasised the party’s agenda: “We intend to use our seven seats to advance an aggressive working-class agenda of ending the outsourcing of basic municipal services to private interests, putting an end to the exploitation of EPWP workers as a source of cheap labour, and rebuilding the institutional and technical capacity of municipalities.”
Ngqentsu further rejected coalition deals with the DA or FF+ in hung councils, stating, “All those forces whose participation in municipalities is about striking deals, who get positions, who gets what tender, the Communist Party will not be part of that.”
The DA holds firm in Cape Town despite losing some ground compared to previous elections, maintaining a clear majority with 133 seats out of 235, according to official election data. The presence of seven new parties reshapes the opposition and promises more diverse scrutiny of issues such as service delivery, housing, safety, and infrastructure in the metro.
The council chamber now features a more complex political mix, with smaller parties and new voices challenging the status quo. While the DA controls the council, these shifts hint at evolving dynamics in Cape Town’s political arena, especially ahead of future municipal decisions.
As coalition discussions unfold across multiple Western Cape municipalities, the SACP’s firm stance against alliances with the DA and FF+ adds further layers to political manoeuvring in the region.
The full breakdown of council seats and party vote shares will be confirmed once official IEC records are publicly released. Cape Flats News will continue monitoring developments in the City of Cape Town council and update on how these new political voices influence governance and community priorities.