KUGOMPO CITY- The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Eastern Cape has unveiled seven mayoral candidates, including four municipalities where the African National Congress (ANC) failed to submit candidates for the 2026 local government elections.
The candidates were announced on 06 October 2026 at the International Conference Centre (ICC) in KuGompo City, led by DA Eastern Cape leader Andrew Whitfield, Member of the Provincial Legislature (MPL).
The four local municipalities where the ANC failed are Port St Johns local municipality and Ingquza Hill local municipality where it failed to submit ward and Proportional representation (PR) lists and Walter Sisulu local municipality and Sundays River Valley local municipality where it failed to submit PR candidates.
Furthermore, the DA announced candidates for Kouga local municipality,Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan municipality,Inxuba Yethemba local municipality,Blue Crane Route local municipality and Makana local municipality as strategic municipalities.
Ingquza Hill local municipality candidate, Cllr Star Mvuyane said his municipality faces serious challenges.
“As the municipality of Ingquza Hill, we have unemployment problems, water problems and corruption,” he said. He pledged to deliver clean water, electricity, sanitation and refuse removal. He also committed to upgrading rural roads so that remote villages can access these services.
In addition, he said he would promote local economic development, create jobs for youth and ensure tenders are awarded fairly and transparently.
Port St Johns local municipality candidate, Cllr Mbongeni Kotana said his focus is ending corruption.”I pledge to end corruption, patronage and waste and ensure money is spent honestly and transparently,” he said.
He said his first priority would be water, electricity, refuse collection and road maintenance.
Furthermore, he pledged to create an environment where businesses, tourism, agriculture and small entrepreneurs can grow and create jobs.
In addition, he promised to restore financial discipline, improve revenue collection and work with communities and traditional leaders.Sundays River Valley local municipality candidate ,Ald Karen Smith said she would create a responsive administration.
“I will create a municipality that listens, responds and is easily accessible,” she said.
She further pledged that money for residents will be spent on them.Whitfield said the decision is based on two metrics. However, the ANC failure created a vacuum.
He said the party identified municipalities with over 30% support therefore rural by-elections show the DA can win.In addition, it added Makana after exponential by-election growth.
“In Port St Johns Ward 2 in 2023, we went from 4.43% to 21.67%. In Matatiele Ward 9 in 2018, we went from 6.2% to 24.94%. What that tells us is there are no no-go areas for the DA,” he said.
Whitfield said the DA will now campaign vigorously in all seven municipalities to present voters with a credible alternative government focused on service delivery, financial discipline, clean governance and bringing hope to neglected rural communities across the province.
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