There was no post-G20 bounce for the ANC as it lost three seats and fell sharply in four other wards in the last major round of by-elections for 2025. The party lost seats to uMkhonto Wesizwe party, the Patriotic Alliance and an independent candidate. The DA retained its two seats.

Sarah Baartman, Eastern Cape

Ward 2 (Pellsrus Jeffreys Bay) Kouga: DA 47% (48%) PA 27% (5%*) ANC 25% (44%) COPE <1%

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The setting: Ward 2 is south of Jeffreys Bay's Main Beach, and south of the main town centre. Most of the voters in the ward are in Pellsrus. Pellsrus includes a section known as Tokyo Sexwale, an ANC stronghold. Further south from Pellsrus is Aston Bay, a happy DA vote-hunting playground. Jeffreys Bay is South Africa's surfing capital. Other towns in the municipality include Humansdorp and Hankey.

The 2021 local government election: The DA edged the ANC by 139 votes. An independent candidate, Charlene Dicken, finished a distant third with 4% of the vote. She was ahead of both the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) and the PA.

The DA obtained 92% support in Aston Bay. The FF+ was second here with 6%. Voter turnout was 63% in this district, above the ward average.

The ANC beat the DA by just more than two votes to one in Pellsrus. The ANC won 60% of the vote, compared with the DA's 29%. Dicken took 9% of the vote here. Turnout here was 61%....