Wayne Sussman - By-Election Trends: PA stronger than in 2024; KZN data “all over the place” - and the DA’s urban support

In a year of by-election results since the national election, the Patriotic Alliance (PA) is showing strong growth. In this interview with BizNews, their performance is highlighted by Elections Analyst Wayne Sussman who says “they are setting themselves up without a shadow of a doubt as the one party which is stronger today compared to where they were in 2024” and could have the opportunity of having “many, many more mayors across the length and breath of this country after the next local government election”. Meanwhile, in urban by-elections, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has strong support. But it is a mixed bag in KwaZulu-Natal, where in some instances uMkhonto we Sizwe (MKP) does well, in some instances the African National Congress (ANC) is showing recovery, and in some instances the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) is being disappointing…Sussman also dissects the results of last night’s two by-elections in both of which the ANC increased its vote share, while the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) saw its support fell from 30% to 11% in one ward, and essentially halved in the other. “And so this is the first time since the 2024 elections beyond KwaZulu-Natal where we see the EFF support starting to collapse.”