DA canters to victory in 2 Saldanha Bay wards

Saldanha Bay, West Coast

The setting: Saldanha Bay is the second-most-populous municipality in the West Coast after Swartland (Malmesbury). Key towns in the Saldanha Bay municipality are Saldanha Bay, Vredenburg, Langebaan and Hopefield. The town of Saldanha Bay is known for its harbour and iron ore exports. It also has a naval academy and was historically a centre of steel processing.

Ward 5 (Town and Jacobsbaai) Saldanha Bay, West Coast: DA 88% (77%) PA 8% (2%) Ind-Vorster 4% TRUTH <1%

The setting: Ward 5 includes the town centre of Saldanha Bay and the small seaside community of Jacobsbaai. Most of the voters in Ward 5 are in Saldanha Bay, with just under six out of every seven casting their ballots in the town voting district.

The 2021 local government election: The DA won Ward 5 easily, followed by the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) with 9% support.

The 2024 provincial election: The DA came first with 82% of the vote. The Patriotic Alliance (PA) made good inroads to finish second with 6%. In 2021, the PA finished sixth in the ward. The FF+ only obtained 3% on the provincial ballot.

The by-election: The DA ward councillor and deputy mayor, Charmaine Laubscher, defected to the PA. She chose not to contest the by-election.

The DA came close to winning 90% of the vote in a shut-out win. In the Saldanha Bay town voting district, the party grew from 75% to 85%, while the PA tripled its support from 3% to 9%. The independent candidate did best in this voting district with 5%.

The FF+ won 8% of the vote in the Saldanha Bay town voting district in 2021, while the ANC and Good managed a respective 4% each in that year.

In Jacobsbaai, the DA received 95%, up from 83% in 2021, when the FF+ received 13%.

Poll: 37% (55%)

Ward 6 (Langebaan) Saldanha Bay, West Coast: DA 74% (77%) FF+ 25% (19%) TRUTH <1%

The setting: Langebaan is a holiday town south of Saldanha Bay. It is off the R27 regional road which links Cape Town with the town. Ward 6 includes the West Coast National Park. Another landmark is the Langebaan Lagoon.

The 2021 local government elections: The DA won more than three-quarters of the vote in Langebaan. The FF+ was the only other party to make any headway in this ward with a 19% return.

The 2024 provincial election: The DA amassed just more than 90% of the vote in the ward on the provincial ballot. The FF+ finished second again but could only obtain 4%.

The by-election: The Ward 6 councillor, André Truter, resigned as mayor of Saldanha Bay and as ward councillor to take up a job in the private sector.

The DA beat the FF+ by 996 votes to hold Ward 6. The party was just shy of winning three out of four of every valid vote in the ward. While it was marginally down from 2021, it will not be greatly concerned. The FF+ will be satisfied with its encouraging growth in this Western Cape ward. The DA had three challengers to contend with in the two Saldanha Bay wards and it was the FF+ that posed the biggest threat with its 25% haul.

Poll: 38% (59%)

The next round of by-elections will be on 29 April when the DA will face off against the PA and Good in Cloetesville, Stellenbosch, for a DA-held seat, while the ANC, DA and PA will be in a three-horse race for an ANC-held seat at Uniondale in the George municipality. DM