DA canters to victory in 2 Saldanha Bay wards, FF+ puts in spirited Langebaan showing

Daily Maverick · 🇿🇦 public South Africa · Apr 23, 2026 · 593 words · By Wayne Sussman

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What to know about Local Election Results in Saldanha Bay

Saldanha Bay, West Coast The setting: Saldanha Bay is the second-most-populous municipality in the West Coast after Swartland (Malmesbury).

Claims checked 33

Techniques found 1

Topics 1

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center100%

Right0%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Saldanha Bay, West Coast The setting: Saldanha Bay is the second-most-populous municipality in the West Coast after Swartland (Malmesbury).

Why it matters

Key towns in the Saldanha Bay municipality are Saldanha Bay, Vredenburg, Langebaan and Hopefield.

Common ground

The town of Saldanha Bay is known for its harbour and iron ore exports.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Local Election Results in Saldanha Bay story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that The DA ward councillor and deputy mayor, Charmaine Laubscher, defected to the PA?
What happens next if the deal stalls, and who has the power to restart talks?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-04-23-da-canters-to-victory-in-two-…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 60% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 33 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 23

info Single Source 5

check_circle Corroborated 3

help Insufficient Evidence 2

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Claim 1: “The DA ward councillor and deputy mayor, Charmaine Laubscher, defected to the PA.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 2: “Langebaan is off the R27 regional road which links Cape Town with the town.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 3: “The DA amassed just more than 90% of the vote in the ward on the provincial ballot in 2024.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 4: “Langebaan is a holiday town south of Saldanha Bay.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 5: “The Patriotic Alliance (PA) made good inroads to finish second with 6% in the 2024 provincial election.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was gathered for this claim, and no web search results or Wikipedia entries provided information regarding the PA's 2024 provincial election performance in Ward 5.

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Claim 6: “Ward 6 includes the West Coast National Park.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 7: “Key towns in the Saldanha Bay municipality are Saldanha Bay, Vredenburg, Langebaan and Hopefield.”

SINGLE SOURCE

One web search result lists several towns incorporated into the municipality, including Langebaan, Vredenburg, Hopefield, St Helena Bay, Jacobsbaai, and Paternoste. This provides evidence for the listed towns but does not confirm this is an exhaustive list of 'key towns' or that the list provided in the claim is accurate based on multiple sources.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The capitulation of Saldanha Bay was the surrender to the British of a Batavian expeditionary force sent to recapture the Dutch Cape Colony in 1796. In 1795, early in the War of the First Coalition, F…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitulation_of_Saldanha_Bay

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This article presents a non-exhaustive list of the world’s deepest natural harbours. Often formed by flooded estuaries, rias, fjords, or coastal basins, natural harbours are valued for their protectio…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_deepest_natural_harbou…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Saldanha man also known as Saldanha cranium or Elandsfontein cranium are fossilized remains of an archaic human. It is one of the key specimens for Homo heidelbergensis. It has not been dated directly…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saldanha_man

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 8: “Saldanha Bay is the second-most-populous municipality in the West Coast after Swartland (Malmesbury).”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence includes general information about Saldanha Bay Municipality's location and population as of 2022, but none of the sources directly compare its population ranking against Swartland (Malmesbury) to confirm it is the 'second-most-populous'.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Saldanha Bay Municipality (Afrikaans: Saldanhabaai Munisipaliteit; Xhosa: uMasipala wase Saldanha Bay) is a local municipality located within the West Coast District Municipality, in the Western Cape …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saldanha_Bay_Local_Municipalit…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The West Coast is a region of the Western Cape province in South Africa and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west and the Swartland region on the east. The region stretches for over 400 km fro…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Coast,_Western_Cape

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The West Coast District Municipality (Afrikaans: Weskus-distriksmunisipaliteit; Xhosa: uMasipala weSithili soNxweme oluseNtshona) is a district municipality located in the Western Cape province of So…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Coast_District_Municipali…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 9: “The ANC, DA and PA will be in a three-horse race for an ANC-held seat at Uniondale in the George municipality.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 10: “The next round of by-elections will be on 29 April when the DA will face off against the PA and Good in Cloetesville, Stellenbosch, for a DA-held seat.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 11: “Ward 5 includes the town centre of Saldanha Bay and the small seaside community of Jacobsbaai.”

CORROBORATED

Two separate web search results explicitly state that 'Ward 5 includes the town centre of Saldanha Bay and the small seaside community of Jacobsbaai.'

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web search NEUTRAL — Jacobsbaai is a settlement in West Coast District Municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Jacobsbaai was founded as a small town on the farmland registered as 109 Jacobsbaai.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacobsbaai

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — DA Ward 5 - Saldanha/Jacobsbaai, Saldanha. 893 likes · 178 talking about this. A relevant, real-time page giving you verified news and information relating to Ward 5
https://www.facebook.com/DASaldanhaward5/

+ 1 more evidence source

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Claim 12: “The FF+ finished second in Ward 6 in the 2024 provincial election but could only obtain 4%.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 13: “The ANC and Good managed a respective 4% each in the Saldanha Bay town voting district in 2021.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 14: “The FF+ was the only other party to make any headway in Langebaan with a 19% return in the 2021 local government elections.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 15: “The DA won Ward 5 easily, followed by the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) with 9% support in the 2021 local government election.”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web search results report the same outcome for the 2021 local government election in Ward 5: the DA won easily, followed by the FF+ with 9% support.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Cederberg Municipality (Afrikaans: Cederberg Munisipaliteit) is a local municipality which governs an area of the Western Cape province of South Africa stretching from the Cederberg mountains through …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cederberg_Local_Municipality

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality council consists of 214 members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. 107 are elected by first-past-the-post voting in 107 wards, while the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_of_Tshwane_elections

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus or FF+; Afrikaans: Vryheidsfront Plus, VF Plus) is a right-wing political party in South Africa that was formed (as the Freedom Front) in 1994. It is led by Corné Mulde…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Front_Plus

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 16: “In Jacobsbaai, the DA received 95% in the by-election.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 17: “The 2024 provincial election: The DA came first with 82% of the vote.”

SINGLE SOURCE

Two different web search results mention the 2024 provincial election results for the DA (82%), but the evidence does not provide enough context or corroboration from a third independent source to elevate the verdict beyond 'single_source'.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The election date of 29 May 2024 was declared by the incumbent president Cyril Ramaphosa on 20 February. [7][8] Going into the election, polls showed that support for the ANC was declining significant…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_South_African_general_ele…

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web search NEUTRAL — By-elections results reports Comparison Report Compares the by-election ward winner, party, % votes received and % poll to those of the corresponding Municipal Election. Detailed Results Shows the can…
https://results.elections.org.za/home/

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web search NEUTRAL — The 2021 local government election: The DA won Ward 5 easily, followed by the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) with 9% support. The 2024 provincial election: The DA came first with 82% of the vote.
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-04-23-da-canter…

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Claim 18: “The town of Saldanha Bay is known for its harbour and iron ore exports.”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web search results confirm that Saldanha Bay is known for its harbour and iron ore exports. One source specifically mentions the port as the 'only dedicated iron ore export facility in South Africa'.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Saldanha Bay is a natural harbour on the south-western coast of South Africa. The town that developed on the northern shore of the bay, also called Saldanha, was incorporated with five other towns int…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saldanha_Bay

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Saldanha Bay, deep, essentially landlocked harbour of the Atlantic Ocean, situated on the southwest coast of South Africa. Named after the early 16th-century Portuguese navigator António de Saldanha, …
https://www.britannica.com/place/Saldanha-Bay

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The port at Saldanha Bay is the only dedicated iron ore export facility in South Africa and is larger than the country’s other four major ports combined. The ore quay at Saldanha has two berths where …
https://www.angloamericankumba.com/our-business/operations

info

Claim 19: “Most of the voters in Ward 5 are in Saldanha Bay, with just under six out of every seven casting their ballots in the town voting district.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The claim cites specific voting statistics (6/7) which are not corroborated by multiple independent sources. However, one web search result mentions voting district details for 2021, providing context but not confirming the specific 6/7 ratio.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Municipal elections were held in South Africa on 1 March 2006, to elect members to the local governing councils in the municipalities of South Africa. The municipalities form the local government of S…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_South_African_municipal_e…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Bergrivier Municipality (Afrikaans: Bergrivier Munisipaliteit) is a local municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It governs the towns of Piketberg (the seat of the municipal counci…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bergrivier_Local_Municipality

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Piketberg (also sometimes spelt Piquetberg in the past) is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa, located about 80 km east of Saldanha Bay. The original spelling of the name was "Piquetberg". The …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piketberg

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 20: “The FF+ received 13% in Jacobsbaai in 2021.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 21: “The DA won more than three-quarters of the vote in Langebaan in the 2021 local government elections.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 22: “The independent candidate did best in the Saldanha Bay town voting district with 5% in the by-election.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 23: “The Ward 6 councillor, André Truter, resigned as mayor of Saldanha Bay and as ward councillor to take up a job in the private sector.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 24: “The DA came close to winning 90% of the vote in a shut-out win in the by-election.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 25: “It also has a naval academy and was historically a centre of steel processing.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence confirms Saldanha Bay has a harbour (Claim 2), but there is no evidence provided in the web search results to confirm that it 'has a naval academy' or that it 'was historically a centre of steel processing'.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — West Coast. Saldanha Bay. Saldanha Bay Local Municipality 163 from Census 2011. Area. 2,015.37 km².
https://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/163

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The N. G. Kuznetsov Naval Academy[a] is the main staff college and postgraduate institution for the Russian Navy and is located in Saint Petersburg. In 1827, Admiral Ivan Kruzenshtern initiated an Off…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuznetsov_Naval_Academy

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Claim 26: “The FF+ only obtained 3% on the provincial ballot in Ward 5.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 27: “Another landmark in Ward 6 is the Langebaan Lagoon.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 28: “In the Saldanha Bay town voting district, the party grew from 75% to 85% in the by-election.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 29: “The FF+ won 8% of the vote in the Saldanha Bay town voting district in 2021.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 30: “The DA beat the FF+ by 996 votes to hold Ward 6 in the by-election.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 31: “In 2021, the PA finished sixth in the ward.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was gathered for this claim, and no web search results or Wikipedia entries provided information regarding the PA's 2021 election ranking in Ward 5.

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Claim 32: “The DA's support in Jacobsbaai was up from 83% in 2021.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 33: “The PA tripled its support from 3% to 9% in the Saldanha Bay town voting district by-election.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.