As the Democratic Alliance (DA) appears well on its way to maintaining its majority in the City of Cape Town, Freedom Front (FF) Plus mayoral candidate Lennit Max believes his former party has only emerged victorious because the electorate are wary of the "radical plans" of the other parties.

He said on Wednesday, "If I was an ordinary voter, even I would have voted for the DA."

"The DA created fear – fear of what might happen if the ANC, the EFF, GOOD... took control of the metro. People don't want social housing [in the inner city] or the hijacking of buildings, like what you see in the other metros. They want a clean and attractive city, tourism and jobs."

By Wednesday mid-morning, the party had attracted 1.72% of the votes in the City, up from the 0.41% in 2016.

Max said he was pleased with this result, pointing out that he had had only two weeks to get his campaign on track after being named as the party's mayoral candidate.

He previously told News24 the FF Plus aimed to represent the interest of minorities, "including Africans who believe in our values", saying it stood for "equal opportunities for all based on merit and reject affirmative action policies".

It emphasised its commitment to combatting unemployment, the housing backlog and crime.

"It is clear that our message resonates with voters," Max said.

He added, "In the very short time we spent campaigning in the metro, this result is overwhelming, much more than we expected."

The party didn't have a specific focus on any racial group, although he wanted to clear misconceptions by promoting the message that the FF+ welcomed people from all demographics, he said.

"I focused on awareness, especially to the coloured people, who were ignorant in thinking that we aren't also for them. That is my responsibility - to make people know that we stand for all."

And had he had more time, he said he believed the party's numbers would have been even better.

"But we'll use this as a springboard for 2024. I am going to work hard to make sure we get more seats in provincial legislature."