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Brothers face off in Cape Town's Ward 56 election

Published

Cheslyn Daniels of the Patriotic Alliance and his brother Ashwin Jansen of the DA are rival candidates in Kensington's Ward 56 in the 4 November 2026 local government elections. Jansen says the brothers' relationship has deteriorated.

Daniels is the Patriotic Alliance (PA) candidate for mayor of Cape Town as well as for Ward 56. He is the first PA ward councillor in the City of Cape Town. Jansen is the DA candidate for the ward and a DA proportional representation councillor for Kensington.

The DA won 53.91% of the vote in Ward 56 in 2021. The PA took 1,321 votes, or 40.7%, in the 8 February 2023 by-election, where turnout was 20.52%. In 2024, the DA won 5,889 votes in the ward on the national ballot and the PA won 1,023.

Jansen said the DA did not contest the 2023 by-election because it failed to register him with the Electoral Commission of South Africa in time. He said the party has learnt its lesson. He also said the 2024 results show the DA still has supporters in the ward, but it will not become complacent.

Several polls put PA support in the Cape Town metro at around 5%. The polls place the city firmly under DA control.

Key facts

Who
Cheslyn Daniels (Patriotic Alliance mayoral candidate and candidate for Ward 56; first PA ward…); Ashwin Jansen (DA candidate for Ward 56 and DA proportional representation councillor for…); Xanthea Limberg (DA proportional representation councillor for Kensington); Devenay (wife of Cheslyn Daniels, arrested with him on assault charges in August)
When
23 October 2026
Where
Cape Town, Kensington, Factreton
Status
Reported

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