Ahead of next week's highly anticipated local government elections, DA leader and Cape Town mayoral candidate Geordin Hill-Lewis has issued a strong warning to residents against splitting their votes, urging them to keep "coalition chaos" out of the city by voting for the DA.

Speaking at a campaign announcement in Blouberg on Tuesday, Hill-Lewis argued that voting for smaller parties risks opening the door for an ANC and EFF “takeover”.

He pointed to the political instability that has severely impacted Johannesburg as a cautionary tale of what could happen if a single party does not secure a decisive mandate.

“With just days to go, I am asking personally for Capetonians’ support so that, together, we can take Cape Town forward for everyone,” Hill-Lewis said.

“Currently the race for Cape Town is close. Cape Town’s progress is on the ballot. And there is no such thing as a safe majority if the people who support it stay at home. Polling puts the DA on 51% in Cape Town, and this election is too close for comfort,” he added.

Reflecting on his past five years in office, Hill-Lewis highlighted the city's recent achievements, including the addition of 418 000 jobs, the deployment of more law enforcement officers, and extensive infrastructure investment.

Looking forward, he outlined the DA's plan for the next five years, which includes establishing a dedicated Metro Police Detective Unit and cutting bureaucratic red tape to foster business growth and job creation.

He said a DA-led government would replace 100 km of water pipes and 100 km of sewer pipes yearly and source cheaper electricity from independent power producers to lower costs for residents.

“Serving as your mayor these past five years has been the greatest honour of my life," Hill-Lewis stated.

The Cape Town address follows a major address by Hill-Lewis on Sunday at the DA’s KwaZulu-Natal final election rally in eThekwini. Highlighting recently released final polling data, Hill-Lewis claimed the DA is on the verge of making national history.

According to Hill-Lewis, the polling shows the DA within a few percentage points of overtaking the ANC to become the largest political party in South Africa, while leading in five of the country's major metropolitan areas.

He added that hundreds of thousands of citizens are planning to vote for the DA for the first time.

Turning his focus to the highly contested eThekwini metro, Hill-Lewis framed the mayoral race as a direct, two-party contest between the DA and the MKP.

“There are only two parties in this fight. And only the DA is big enough to stop the beautiful city falling to the destruction of MKP," Hill-Lewis said, rallying Durban residents to unite behind the DA to secure a DA-led government.

He warned supporters to expect “political desperation” from the ANC as voters migrate away from the ruling party.

"They will use every dirty trick in the book to make sure they stay in office," he alleged, urging voters to remain vigilant as the country heads to the polls next week.