With branches established in every corner of Nelson Mandela Bay, the PA believes it is poised to shift the metro’s political landscape in what it calls its most important election to date.
PA president and sport, arts and culture minister Gayton McKenzie visited Gqeberha on Friday to set the mandate and targets for the party’s 120 ward and PR candidates, who will be crisscrossing communities hoping to sway voters.
The party launched its local government election campaign at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in 2024.
Friday’s event marked the first in a series of planned visits by McKenzie to municipalities across SA ahead of the elections.
In a statement issued after a closed session, held at City Hall, McKenzie outlined the PA’s election strategy and vision.
“While other parties are focused on coalition talks in Nelson Mandela Bay, the Patriotic Alliance is not campaigning to be part of another coalition,” he said.
“Our goal is clear: we will deliver Bradley Murray as the mayor of Nelson Mandela Bay.
“Do what you need to do, and we will do what we need to do.”
McKenzie commended the work of the party’s regional leadership and candidates.
In 2024, Murray and Lindoor Shuling both left the ANC-led coalition running the metro and resigned as PR councillors to focus on the PA’s electioneering strategy in the province.
Murray was appointed regional leader while Lindoor took up a political post focusing on arts and culture in the Eastern Cape.
In May, during the PA’s launch in the metro, where about 20,000 party members packed the stadium, McKenzie declared Nelson Mandela Bay ground zero in the upcoming elections.
On Sunday, Murray said the party was gunning for an outright majority in the metro.
“We’ve got 60 ward councillor candidates, which means we’ve got 60 branches and have a presence in every single ward in the city.
“Our campaign strategy in Ward 34 allowed us to take two voting districts from the DA including the biggest VD outright, so that is the strategy we are rolling out.
“It’s very, very simple, we knock on every door and try to find out what the people’s problems are so that we can try and solve them.
“So, 95% of the campaign is about service delivery.”
In 2025, the DA and PA were locked in a tight contest in Ward 34, a traditional DA stronghold.
The DA won the ward, securing 2,382 votes (46.56%) while the PA got 2,194 votes (42.89%).
“We managed to climb from 300 votes to 2,200 votes, so the PA and the DA have a one percent difference in that ward,” Murray said.
“Basically, if our strategy works, we might take 11 DA PR seats away,” Murray said.
“We now have more wards than the ANC.
“The SACP will also be contesting, which will further split their vote.
“Each of our branches has to have 100 members and be attended by at least 50 people each meeting.
“All the meetings we have had have met that quorum, so even if we do not take the wards, we expect to also get PR seats in the townships.”
