The town of Beaufort West is poised for significant political shifts as three crucial by-elections take place on Wednesday.

While the Patriotic Alliance is incumbent, the two main opposing parties remain the DA and ANC. With the two parties in coalition in national government, and Helen Zille having recently vetoed the admission of the PA to the national coalition, there remains the possibility of seeing the PA ousted in Beaufort West in favour of a DA-ANC coalition.

The elections mark the potential return of former Beaufort West mayor, Truman Prince, formerly of the Independent civic Organisation, now Movement of the People. This forms part of a general pattern in recent years of localist parties gaining key margins across the rural Cape. One seat is already held by the local Karoo Defence Force.

The by-elections will be held in three wards, including Murraysburg and Rustdene, where residents will vote for new ward councillors following the resignation of three councillors in March.

Among the candidates is Ralph Skuza, a former ANC councillor now running as an independent, and Ebenezer Botha, representing the African Restoration Alliance. However, the spotlight is on veteran politician Truman Prince, running for the Movement of the People.

The PA’s lead may not be entirely secure, as they are facing a corruption probe following their lackluster and often suspicious manner of governance in the district. Former Central Karoo mayor and PA leader Gayton McKenzie has been ordered by the Western Cape High Court to fully cooperate with investigators probing corruption in the Karoo municipality during his tenure.

The court dismissed McKenzie's claim that funds he raised were outside public finance reporting. The DA alleges R3 million is missing, though the investigation will determine the actual amount. Initiated by Western Cape local government MEC Anton Bredell in 2023, the probe requires McKenzie and others to provide pertinent information.

McKenzie, elected unopposed in 2022, previously gave up his mayoral salary, valued at R1.5 million, and claimed his fundraising activities were personal. However, Judge Rosheni Allie ruled these were official duties, necessitating proper accounting and cooperation with the investigation.

McKenzie is set to join the National Assembly, with the PA securing nine seats, though whether they will be able to join the governing coalition is uncertain.

If the DA secures victories in all three wards, it could achieve an outright majority in the municipality. However, with one of the wards remaining an ANC stronghold, the likelihood is that the P. In the recent general elections, the DA received the most votes in two wards, with the ANC narrowly winning the third.

Since the 2021 municipal elections, Beaufort West has been governed by a coalition of the PA, ANC, and KDF, with the DA and Good Party in opposition. The municipality has seen frequent changes in leadership, with five mayors since 2021.

In addition to Beaufort West, by-elections will also be held in Cape Town’s Ward 64 (Muizenberg, Fish Hoek), Ward 105 (Durbanville), and Ward 113 (Table View).

The outcome of these elections will be closely watched, since they could signal the intentions of the major national parties toward the possibility of cooperation in the 2026 local election, and would therefore become politically sensitive, and possibly be influenced by the nature of the ongoing national powersharing negotiations.

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