DA: sources

Every fact on the DA page with its full citation: the document, the page or section, and the date. The dates things were last checked live here rather than on the page itself. Candidates for the 4 November 2026 election are on the IEC’s certified candidate lists and the party’s website.

Leader shown: Geordin Hill-Lewis, Federal Leader, since April 2026. Source: DA announces Leadership Election Results, 12 April 2026

Founded: 24 June 2000. Source: New Alliance gets FW's blessing, Opening paragraphs: 'The DP and the NNP announced on Saturday that they had agreed to form an alliance'; 'DP leader Tony Leon will head the DA', 26 June 2000

The header tiles use the IEC results and the offices listed under Results and offices below.

What it promises

Manifesto shown: Getting South Africa Working For All: Local Government Manifesto 2026 (launched 8 August 2026 at Mary Fitzgerald Square, Johannesburg; 50 pages).

The five are the first five items of the first list of the manifesto's own commitments, leaving aside any list inside a foreword or leader's message, in the manifesto's own order. Taken from 'Our Plan to Get Your Municipality Working', p. 7, the list introduced 'The DA will get your municipality working by:', items 1 to 5 of 6.. The short heading on each commitment is the site’s plain-language label; the quoted words are the manifesto’s own.

Corruption-free municipalities: "Building corruption-free and professional municipalities by appointing competent people based on merit, not political connections." (p. 7)
Getting water flowing: "Getting water flowing by reinvesting water revenue into infrastructure and bringing in private sector investment and expertise." (p. 7)
Keeping the lights on: "Keeping the lights on by reinvesting electricity revenue into infrastructure and freeing municipalities to buy and sell their own power." (p. 7)
Safer communities: "Making communities safer by bringing policing closer to the people and empowering municipalities with the tools to fight crime on the ground." (p. 7)
Cleaning up towns and cities: "Cleaning up our towns and cities by partnering with the private sector to restore neglected public spaces – from clinics and libraries to parks and sports facilities." (p. 7)

Where it stands

Water and electricity

Agrees – Municipalities should keep the right to buy electricity from private power companies as well as from Eskom.
Source: 2026 Local Government Manifesto: Our Plan to Get Every Town and City Working For All, p. 22, 8 August 2026
Agrees – Unpaid household electricity debts should be collected, not cancelled.
Source: 2026 Local Government Manifesto: Our Plan to Get Every Town and City Working For All, p. 11, 8 August 2026
Agrees – Eskom's older coal power stations should close on their planned dates.
Source: The DA's Rescue Plan for South Africa: Election Manifesto 2024, p. 15 to 16, energy chapter, 17 February 2024
Agrees – Where a municipality cannot keep the water running, it should hire a private company to run its water system.
Source: 2026 Local Government Manifesto: Our Plan to Get Every Town and City Working For All, p. 11-12; p. 17, 8 August 2026

Housing and land

Disagrees – The state should give a free house to every household that cannot afford to buy one, not only the poorest.
Source: A Firm Foundation: DA Position Paper on Housing and Housing-related Urban Development 2022, p. 7, 2022
Agrees – The law should make it quicker to remove people who have recently moved onto land without permission.
Source: 2026 Local Government Manifesto: Our Plan to Get Every Town and City Working For All, p. 48, 8 August 2026
Disagrees – In some cases the state should be able to take land for housing or public use without paying the owner.
Source: National Assembly vote on the Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill; National Assembly adoption of the..., Votes of 7 December 2021 and 28 September 2022, 28 September 2022

Crime and policing

Agrees – Provinces should be allowed to run their own police services that can investigate crime, alongside the national police.
Source: The DA's Rescue Plan for South Africa: Election Manifesto 2024, p. 23, 17 February 2024

No published position found in the documents checked, as at 13 October 2026, on: The death penalty should be brought back for murder.

Foreign nationals

Disagrees – Only South African citizens and permanent residents should be allowed to own spaza shops and other small township businesses.
Source: 'The bill discriminates against foreign nationals': DA's Makashule Gana slams Township Economy Bill, Daily Dispatch report of DA Gauteng MPL Makashule Gana's remarks on the bill, 20 October 2020, 20 October 2020
Disagrees – Foreign nationals without legal status should get only emergency care at public clinics and hospitals.
Source: DA calls for urgent Public Order Police to stop Operation Dudula's xenophobic presence at health facilities, 12 August 2025

Jobs, grants and tax

Agrees – Yearly increases to the national minimum wage should be no more than about the rate of inflation.
Source: A national minimum wage hike will deepen South Africa's unemployment crisis, 30 September 2024
Agrees – Labour laws should make it easier for businesses to hire and dismiss workers.
Source: The DA's Rescue Plan for South Africa: Election Manifesto 2024, pp. 12-13, 17 February 2024
Disagrees – Municipalities should employ their security guards, cleaners and other contract workers directly, rather than through contractors.
Source: 2026 Local Government Manifesto: Our Plan to Get Every Town and City Working For All, p. 17; p. 23; p. 34, 8 August 2026
Disagrees – Unemployed adults should get a basic income grant well above the current R370 a month.
Source: The DA's Rescue Plan for South Africa: Election Manifesto 2024, p. 34-35, 17 February 2024
Disagrees – People earning more than about R1.9 million a year should pay more tax than they do now.
Source: The DA's Rescue Plan for South Africa: Election Manifesto 2024, p. 13, 17 February 2024

Councils and government

Disagrees – When awarding tenders, municipalities should keep giving extra points to black-owned businesses.
Source: 2026 Local Government Manifesto: Our Plan to Get Every Town and City Working For All, p. 45; p. 11-12, 8 August 2026
Disagrees – Party leaders outside the council should have a say in who gets senior municipal jobs such as municipal manager.
Source: 2026 Local Government Manifesto: Our Plan to Get Every Town and City Working For All, p. 10; p. 4, 8 August 2026
Agrees – A party should need at least 1% of the vote to get a seat on a council.
Source: DA publishes Municipal Threshold Bill for public comment, 26 January 2025
Disagrees – Parties should be required by law to make women at least half of their candidates.
Source: South Africa: DA will fight against 50/50 gender quotas, 2 September 2012
Disagrees – Provincial governments should be scrapped, with their work handed to national government and municipalities.
Source: DA endorses Western Cape Provincial Powers Bill, 26 June 2023
Disagrees – The Western Cape should hold a referendum on whether to become an independent country.
Source: Winde: Power drives this province, 5 January 2024

National questions

Disagrees – The National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme should go ahead.
Source: National Assembly vote on the National Health Insurance Bill, Vote of 13 June 2023, 13 June 2023
Agrees – The school's governing body should have the final say on the language the school teaches in.
Source: National Assembly votes on the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill, Votes of 26 October 2023 and 16 May 2024, 16 May 2024
In between – Public universities and colleges should be free for all students, not only for those from poorer homes.
Source: The DA's Rescue Plan for South Africa: Election Manifesto 2024, p. 43, chapter 'The DA will rescue learners from a failing education system', subheading on making higher education more accessible and affordable, 17 February 2024
Agrees – The government should sell SAA, the national airline.
Source: DA takes action to have Gordhan account for cancelled SAA/Takatso deal, body of statement, 14 March 2024
Disagrees – The mines should be brought under state ownership.
Source: Time for Zuma to take a stand on nationalisation: DA, 3 August 2011
Agrees – Government should end race-based measures such as BEE in jobs, contracts and benefits.
Source: The DA's Rescue Plan for South Africa: Election Manifesto 2024, p. 33, 17 February 2024
Agrees – The courts should keep the power to cancel a law that breaks the Constitution.
Source: DA Values and Principles, Values and principles page, 30 September 2026
Agrees – Government should play a smaller part in the economy than it does now.
Source: The DA's Rescue Plan for South Africa: Election Manifesto 2024, p. 11, 17 February 2024

Where it leans and party similarity

The dials and the radar use the positions listed above; each dial is the average of the party’s positions on its statements. Statements behind each dial: Economy: 7 of 7 statements; Services: 4 of 4 statements; Redistribution: 6 of 6 statements; Order and borders: 3 of 4 statements; Where power sits: 4 of 4 statements.

Party similarity is scored the way the quiz scores a person, on the statements where both parties have a published position: FF Plus: 24 shared statements; ActionSA: 23 shared statements; IFP: 18 shared statements; PA: 16 shared statements; ANC: 27 shared statements; EFF: 26 shared statements; MK: 18 shared statements.

Results

National elections: share of the national ballot. Local elections: share of the proportional-representation ballot across all municipalities.

2014 national: 22.23% of the vote, 89 of 400 seats. Source: IEC 2014 National Election, Results Report - National
2019 national: 20.77% of the vote, 84 of 400 seats. Source: IEC 2019 National Election, Results Report - National
2024 national: 21.81% of the vote, 87 of 400 seats. Source: IEC 2024 National Election, National Ballot, Results Report - National
2016 local: 27.02% of the vote. Source: IEC Local Government Election 2016, Results Summary - All Ballots, National
2021 local: 21.75% of the vote. Source: IEC Local Government Election 2021, Results Summary - All Ballots, National

2024 provincial vote

Western Cape: 55.30%, 24 of 42 seats
Gauteng: 27.45%, 22 of 80 seats
Free State: 21.88%, 7 of 30 seats
Northern Cape: 21.19%, 7 of 30 seats
Eastern Cape: 14.89%, 11 of 72 seats
KwaZulu-Natal: 13.36%, 11 of 80 seats
North West: 13.24%, 5 of 38 seats
Mpumalanga: 12.02%, 6 of 51 seats
Limpopo: 5.96%, 4 of 64 seats

Source: IEC 2024 Provincial Election, Results Report - Eastern Cape

Provincial legislature seats in 2024: 97 across the nine legislatures.

Offices

Offices as at 13 October 2026. Mayoralties may change after the 4 November 2026 local election; this page is updated once the new councils have met.

Premier, Western Cape: Alan Winde, since May 2019. Source: Alan Winde, Mr
Executive mayor, Cape Town: Geordin Hill-Lewis, since November 2021. Source: Mayor of Cape Town
Part of the national government (the Government of National Unity). Source: Statement by President Cyril Ramaphosa on the appointment of members of the national executive, 30 June 2024
Largest party in 2024, by provincial vote: Western Cape (worked out from the IEC’s 2024 provincial results above).

In its own words

The site applies no ideology label of its own; the quotation is the party’s own description of itself, from its founding document, constitution or values page.

Source: Democratic Alliance Federal Constitution, Clause 1.2 'OUR VALUES', first sentence, printed p. 5

Facts

Founded 24 June 2000. Source: New Alliance gets FW's blessing, Opening paragraphs: 'The DP and the NNP announced on Saturday that they had agreed to form an alliance'; 'DP leader Tony Leon will head the DA', 26 June 2000
Origins: a merger of the Democratic Party, the New National Party and the Federal Alliance Source: DA History, Timeline entry 2000, 'Democratic Alliance is formed to ensure freedom, fairness, opportunity and diversity for ALL': 'In 2000 the DP reaches a merger agreement...
Leader Tony Leon, 2000 to 2007. Source: Alliance is death knell for Nats, 24 June 2000
Leader Helen Zille, 2007 to 2015. Source: Zille named as new DA leader, 6 May 2007
Leader Mmusi Maimane, 2015 to 2019. Source: Mmusi Maimane wins DA leadership race, 10 May 2015
Leader John Steenhuisen, 2020 to 2026. Source: Steenhuisen elected new DA leader, 1 November 2020
Leader Geordin Hill-Lewis, 2026 to date. Source: DA announces Leadership Election Results, 12 April 2026

Funding

2021/22: public funding R29.9 million; declared donations R47.9 million
2022/23: public funding R62.7 million; declared donations R54.5 million
2023/24: public funding R119.3 million; declared donations R126.8 million
2024/25: public funding R99.5 million; declared donations R68.2 million

Totals, April 2021 to March 2025: public funding R311.4 million; declared donations R297.4 million.

Parties must tell the IEC about any donor who gives more than R100,000 a year (R200,000 a year since August 2025). Smaller gifts are not made public. Parties with seats in Parliament or a provincial legislature also receive public money from the Represented Political Parties' Fund (renamed the Political Representatives Fund in 2024), shown as public funding. Neither figure is the party's total income. The 2024/25 year is the latest covered by an IEC annual report; the IEC's quarterly reports for April 2025 onwards are on the IEC's political funding page, and these figures are updated when the next annual report appears.

Reports: Political Party Funding 2022 Annual Report, 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022; IEC Political Party Funding Annual Report for 2022/23, as reported by Cape Times/Sunday Independent...; Political Party Funding Annual Report 2024, 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024; Political Funding Report 2025, financial year ended 31 March 2025; IEC quarterly disclosure statements Q1 to Q4 2022/23.

Note: the 2022/23 public funding figure is as the press reported it from the IEC's annual report, to one decimal place in millions, because that report could not be opened, so the four-year total may be out by up to R100,000; the 2022/23 donations figure is the sum of the IEC's four quarterly statements.