Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader and member of the City of Joburg executive council Charles Cilliers says his party looks set to head to Parliament and be the biggest voice of the voiceless majority of black and coloured people in the Western Cape as well as in the City of Joburg.
Speaking to The Star from the IEC results centre on Thursday, Cilliers said its patriotic stance had been responsible for the party’s big run in the elections, as ballots still being accounted for were still just under 19% with more and more results starting to trickle in.
Cilliers said: “We are doing much better than anyone else projected and we are not surprised. I thought we were going to only achieve 2% and we are on track to even becoming the 5th biggest political party.
“We will be second or third in the Western Cape. The Northern Cape will be the same. We are aiming to be at least the 5th official opposition.
“We have pushed hard to bring the DA down to under 50% in the Western Cape. It is going to be hard to achieve that but it is still possible.”
Cilliers said its uncompromising stance on illegal immigration and the prioritisation of South Africans for jobs, housing and other social issues had been the biggest drawcard that allowed the party to be where it was today.
“There is a lot that can be done better in the Western Cape to ensure that the needs of our people are taken care of because the DA has failed to represent all the people of the Western Cape and chooses to represent the people they are representing.
“The DA compares itself to the ANC but they need to compare themselves to something better than that. That is why we are here and we believe we are doing something better and the patriots have come out in their numbers to support us,” he said.
Last week, the PA announce its alliance with the Operation Dudula Movement, which in recent years has also voiced its displeasure at the open borders that have resulted in an immigration crisis in the country.
Cilliers said this obvious partnership, even though it came late, just days before the election, was a step in the right direction to ensure the issue of immigration was taken care of in Parliament.
On the IEC’s handling of the elections and the inclusion of independent candidates on the ballot, Cilliers said this was a mistake. The country was not ready for independent candidates.
“The IEC is under-funded and that has resulted in a lot of problems. It also resulted in the issue of three ballots.
“If you look at the contribution of these independent candidates, I would be very surprised if any of them makes a mark in the elections. I think we need to go back to the drawing board because if it was going to work, Mmusi Maimane would not have formed Bosa to contest the elections,” he said.
The Star