DA tightens grip in Rustenburg as FF Plus support slides
· Citizen
The DA has tightened its grip on Rustenburg’s CBD-based ward 15, sweeping the boards in the recent by-elections, leaving both the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) and the ANC adrift.
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The outcome entrenches the DA‘s dominance in this platinum capital ward, while exposing the FF+ as the real casualty of the contest. Ward 15 has long been a battleground between the DA and FF+, with the ANC historically trailing far behind.
DA swept 81% of ward 15 votes in Rustenburg’s CBD
The latest poll confirmed the DA’s ascendancy: it secured 81% of the vote across the ward’s two stations, while the FF+ managed just 19%. The ANC, once again, was relegated to a distant third with a mere 5%.
The numbers tell a deeper story: the DA’s support rose sharply from the 72% it achieved in 2021, while the FF+ dropped by four points from its previous 23%.
That swing underscores a consolidation of DA support in Rustenburg’s white-dominated suburbs of Safari Tuine and Protea Park, where the contest was most intense. Yet, despite their combined strength, the DA and FF+ remain unable to dislodge the ANC-led coalition that governs the council.
The DA’s victory in ward 15 was hardly unexpected as it had, since the 2021 local government elections, monopolised Rustenburg’s CBD, though it failed to secure an outright council majority.
The ANC, weakened, but after cobbling together a coalition with smaller parties, retained control. That arrangement remains intact, even as the DA continues to chip away at the ANC’s influence.
For the ANC, the by-election result is another warning sign, particularly after its council majority was dramatically reduced in 2021, forcing it into coalition politics.
Each DA victory diminishes ANC prospects
Each DA victory in Rustenburg further diminishes the ANC’s prospects of reclaiming sole power in the municipality.
But the ANC’s strength lies elsewhere – in the periurban areas, black townships, villages and mining communities surrounding Rustenburg.
Once seen as the DA’s main challenger in Rustenburg, the FF+ has steadily lost ground.
Its decline in ward 15 contrasts with its successes elsewhere in the Kenneth Kaunda district, where it managed to wrest control of Potchefstroom, Stilfontein and Schweizer-Reneke from the DA in 2021.
Stilfontein, notably, is the birthplace of former FF+ leader Pieter Groenewald, who once served as its mayor and studied political science at Potchefstroom University.
The DA’s ability to expand its support in a ward once dominated by Afrikaner voters suggests that its appeal has broadened beyond traditional liberal enclaves.
FF Plus dropped four points
For the FF+, the erosion of its base in Rustenburg is a strategic setback, even if it continues to perform well in other parts of the district.
The DA’s consolidation in ward 15 strengthens its claim as the dominant opposition force to the ANC, while the FF+ struggles to maintain relevance in areas where it once competed strongly.
At the same time, the ANC’s reliance on coalition partners highlights its vulnerability.
The party’s grip on Rustenburg is no longer assured and its inability to compete meaningfully in ward 15 reflects a broader challenge of how to retain influence in urban centres where opposition parties are entrenched.