Knysna heads for a hung council, despite DA gains - News24
As happened in the 2021 local government elections, the Knysna municipality is again emerging with a hung council.
With all votes counted, the DA has won 44.41% of the vote in Wednesday’s municipal election, followed by the ANC with 18.71%, and the Patriotic Alliance (PA) with 9.97%, which translates into two council seats.
The ANC dropped three seats, from seven to four. The DA claimed nine seats, one more than in 2021, when it won 35.44% of the vote. It now needs to look for a partner with at least two seats to form a governing coalition.
Other parties in line to claim council seats are the EFF, the FF Plus and the People’s Movement for Change. Local parties such as Choose CX and the Knysna Civic Alliance will likely secure a seat on the council.
The outcome means that the DA, despite its slogan “Stop Coalition Chaos”, will now have to form one to govern the Garden Route city.
Five years ago, the DA entered into a coalition with the Knysna Independent Movement (KIM), a party formed by Mark Willemse, who was a DA member until 2019.
The EFF, with a single council seat, played kingmaker and helped the DA/KIM into power.
By 2022, the coalition was removed from power after the EFF chose to vote alongside a coalition comprising the ANC, PA, and a local grassroots party called the Plaaslike Besorgde Inwoners (PBI).
In 2023, PA leader Gayton McKenzie ordered his party’s councillors to exit the ANC, EFF, and PBI coalition.
The 21-seat Knysna council has been grappling with serious service delivery-related problems.
An inspection by the Western Cape provincial government found that only 11 of Knysna’s 67 sewer pump stations were fully functional, with raw sewage flowing into streets, homes, and the Knysna estuary. Water shortages compounded the crisis, with the Akkerkloof Dam at around 15% capacity.
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