CAPE TOWN, 5 November 2025– The Democratic Alliance (DA) says the African National Congress (ANC) faces an ANC decline in the Western Cape following the defection of its former provincial secretary, Neville Delport.
Delport joined the DA on Wednesday, accusing the ANC of undermining the will of its members by disbanding the provincially elected leadership from 2023 and reinstating figures from a previous executive. He claimed the move demonstrated the party’s disregard for democratic processes within its ranks.
“The ANC ignored the outcomes of a legitimate conference,” Delport said. “We were elected under a ticket that championed rural communities and coloured leadership, yet the leadership that lost was reinstated. Those leaders do not reflect the will of our coloured communities.”
Responding to the defection, the ANC dismissed Delport’s claims, saying his departure confirmed the correctness of its decision to restructure the provincial executive as part of an ongoing renewal programme. The party described him as a divisive figure and stated that the renewal process aimed to remove opportunism and political self-interest from its ranks.
Meanwhile, DA Federal Chairperson Helen Zille said Delport’s move reflected broader political shifts across South Africa. “As the process of the disintegration of the ANC continues, the DA will continue to attract those who believe in our vision for the country’s future,” she said.
Zille added that Delport had approached the DA on his own initiative and was not actively recruited.
The defection comes amid continued turbulence within the ANC’s Western Cape structures, following the dissolution of its provincial leadership last week. Analysts say such moves could signal deeper challenges for the party in the province, where it has long struggled to regain support from voters disillusioned by internal conflict and governance disputes.
The DA, which governs the Western Cape, has framed Delport’s defection as evidence of the ANC decline in the region and a sign of continued political realignment ahead of future elections.
