In the 2014 election the Democratic Alliance (DA) strengthened its electoral
support nationally as well as in the Western Cape province, where it
governs. It gained over a million new national votes, increasing its total
from 2945 829 in 2009 to 4 091 548 in 2014. It also unseated the Inkatha
Freedom Party (IFP) as official opposition in KwaZulu-Natal and became
the official opposition in the Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape
and Free State, while strengthening its opposition status in Gauteng from
21.86% of the vote in 2009 to 30.78% in 2014. In the Western Cape it gained
59.38% of the vote, an increase from 51.46% in 2009. This article considers
whether the DA’s 2014 electoral gains suggest a strengthening of opposition
politics in South Africa. It focuses on whether the DA meets the obligations
of an opposition party with regard to providing an institutional space for
counter-political elites to organise and providing a viable alternative to the
ruling party together with facilitating debate over political issues and public
policy while also performing an oversight role.