De Lille votes in Pinelands and tells South Africans the ballot is the only answer

GOOD leader Patricia de Lille voted at Pinelands Primary in Cape Town on Wednesday, and the party used her visit to the voting station to make its closing argument to South Africans: that the election is a contest of ideas, values and principles, and that change only comes from using the ballot.

In a post on its official X account, GOOD said de Lille reminded voters that “elections are about the contestation of ideas, values and principles”, and that “if we want change, we must exercise our democratic right and vote for the leadership we believe in”.

The party’s message was aimed squarely at turnout. “Your vote is your voice, your choice and your opportunity to shape the future of our democracy,” the post read, adding that “South Africa’s young democracy depends on citizens who make their voices heard”.

The post carried the party’s campaign tags for the 2026 local government election and did not set out specific policy commitments, name rival parties or make claims about the outcome.

De Lille’s own record is the context voters bring to that appeal. She has moved through several political homes in her career and now leads GOOD, the party she founded, which has campaigned on land, housing and local government delivery. Her appearance at a Cape Town voting station places her in the province where the party’s support is concentrated.

The post gave no figures on turnout at Pinelands Primary or elsewhere, and no result was available at the time it was published.