With more than half of voting districts now declared, the Democratic Alliance (DA) on Friday celebrated the fact that it is the only party represented in the National Assembly that has registered growth, with all other existing parties registering a decline.

The DA is currently standing at 23.7%, while the ruling African National Congress (ANC) stood at 42.1% of the vote with results in from 54.9% of polling stations, by far its worst result since 1994.

A new party led by former president Jacob Zuma, the uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) Party stood on 10.8%, overtaking the Economic Freedom Fighters, who stood at 9.6%.

“Change has come to South Africa, not through violent protest or instability, but through the ballot box. The Constitution defines South Africa as a multiparty democracy, and we now begin our transition into fulfilling this mission and away from a one-party State,” said DA leader John Steenhuisen.

He said the DA was now “unquestionably” back to a growth path, after growing in the 2021 local government elections and now the 2024 national and provincial elections, consecutively.

Steenhuisen noted that the DA had registered significant growth in the Free State, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, the North West, and elsewhere.

“…thanks to many former ANC voters that have chosen to strengthen the DA in the interests of rescuing South Africa. We are also heartened by the early strong returns in parts of Gauteng, including Soweto, Hammanskraal, Daveyton, Kwa-Thema, and elsewhere in the province,” he said.

He also highlighted that the DA had retained its majority in the Western Cape, where voters had rewarded the party for a strong track record of delivery.

“It is a vindication of the DA’s governance record, and municipal level data shows that where the DA governs locally, voters have likewise given us a vote of confidence nationally and provincially,” explained Steenhuisen.

He said the DA was grateful to the many new voters that had chosen the DA as their political home and delivered it growth.

“We are also heartened by the many millions of voters who determinedly remained in long queues due to the IEC’s ineptitude, and who were determined to use their vote as their voice to rescue South Africa. We thank you, and we will not let you down,” he said.