DA’s Msimanga says he's surprised by MK Party’s rapid growth in Gauteng

JOHANNESBURG - With the Democratic Alliance (DA) lagging slightly behind the African National Congress (ANC) on the Gauteng leaderboard, its premier candidate in the province, Solly Msimanga, says he is surprised by the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party’s rapid growth in it.

The newcomers have been battling it out with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) for the third spot, but still sit at fourth.

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The MK Party’s performance in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and Mpumalanga has not come as a surprise, as the party has sought to establish itself in those areas, even exerting much pressure in the recent by-elections.

But it's in Gauteng where their run so far has been fascinating, giving major players like the EFF a tough time.

Msimanga said he was not surprised by the MK’s feature on the results board.

“What we were not really anticipating is the growth in which they hit off. They got in and they got in very big. Also, they chowed a lot of the EFF’s vote as well, which is very telling. They weakened the EFF.”

Meanwhile, with 5% of the vote capturing done in Gauteng, the ANC, DA, and the EFF remain the top players on the board.