CAPE TOWN, Monday 21 September 2026 — Cape Town hip-hop pioneer and broadcaster Deon “Ready D” Daniels has withdrawn from the race for mayor and resigned from the People’s Movement for Change only weeks after entering party politics, forcing the fledgling party to reconsider its leadership offer ahead of the 4 November local government elections.
Daniels had been announced as the PMC’s Cape Town mayoral candidate earlier this month after joining the party led by former Western Cape ANC leader Marius Fransman.
The party confirmed his departure, saying professional and contractual commitments in Daniels’ entertainment and creative career extending into mid-2027 made continued participation in a political-party structure impractical.
His withdrawal removes one of the more recognisable cultural figures from an increasingly crowded Cape Town mayoral field less than seven weeks before voting day.
Daniels withdraws after only weeks in politics
Daniels entered the race at the beginning of September.
The PMC presented him as its candidate for the Cape Town mayoralty during an announcement in Ottery, positioning the veteran musician and broadcaster as a candidate capable of connecting cultural, youth and community work with municipal politics.
His political career lasted only weeks.
EWN reported on Monday that Daniels had decided the timing was not right and would return his focus to his music and other professional commitments.
Daniels is best known as Ready D and rose to prominence with the influential Cape Town hip-hop group Prophets of da City.
Professional contracts extend into 2027
PMC president Marius Fransman said Daniels had existing contractual and professional commitments to clients and partners in the creative and entertainment industries.
Those commitments extend until the middle of 2027, according to the party.
Fransman said the PMC respected Daniels’ decision and would not turn the withdrawal into a political dispute.
The party thanked him for his contribution and wished him well.
No replacement Cape Town mayoral candidate had been publicly confirmed in the reporting reviewed by Monday morning.
Withdrawal affects both mayoral and ward campaign
Daniels’ departure is more than a symbolic withdrawal from a mayoral title.
Current regional reporting says he has withdrawn his mayoral and ward candidacies and resigned from the PMC.
That creates a candidate-management question for the party because the IEC’s nomination process has already closed and final candidate lists have been certified.
Municipal election law places restrictions on when and how political parties can substitute candidates after nominations close.
The practical effect on the PMC’s certified candidate list will therefore depend on Daniels’ position on that list and the statutory rules applicable to any vacancy.
PMC loses high-profile campaign figure
Daniels’ candidacy had given the relatively new PMC immediate name recognition in Cape Town.
The party has yet to establish representation in the City council.
Fransman founded the PMC after a lengthy career in the ANC, including service as Western Cape ANC leader, deputy international relations minister and provincial MEC.
Recruiting Daniels allowed the party to present a figure with strong roots in Cape Town’s cultural sector rather than relying solely on established political personalities.
His withdrawal removes that element from the campaign.
Cape Town field remains crowded
Cape Town remains one of the most competitive candidate fields in the municipal election even though the DA enters as the clear incumbent.
The DA is campaigning to retain its outright majority under incumbent mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.
The EFF formally presented national chairperson Nontando Nolutshungu as its mayoral candidate at its Delft manifesto launch on Sunday.
ActionSA is fielding Dereleen James, while the ANC and numerous smaller parties are also competing for representation.
The newly registered UDF Party launched its own Western Cape manifesto in Mitchells Plain on Sunday.
Daniels’ withdrawal therefore narrows the field by one recognisable candidate but does little to reduce the wider fragmentation of Cape Town’s opposition vote.
Mayor will ultimately be elected by council
As with the other mayoral candidates, Daniels would not have appeared on a separate mayoral ballot.
Cape Town voters elect ward councillors and cast a proportional-representation party vote.
The incoming council then elects an executive mayor from among its members.
The PMC would therefore have needed to win council representation and assemble sufficient support from other councillors for Daniels to become mayor.
His withdrawal means the party must now decide how it presents its preferred leadership to voters during the remaining campaign.
Withdrawal comes after final certification
The timing is particularly notable because the Electoral Commission of South Africa published its final certified candidate lists on 16 September.
Political parties can no longer simply rewrite their lists as campaign strategies change.
The Municipal Structures Act and municipal electoral legislation tightly regulate candidate substitutions after nomination deadlines.
That means the political decision to withdraw and the legal status of a certified candidate are not necessarily identical processes.
Any changes to the PMC’s certified slate will have to comply with the electoral framework.
Cultural work remains Daniels’ priority
Daniels indicated that his withdrawal should not be interpreted as an end to his involvement in public life.
His work has long included youth development, education, cultural activism and community projects alongside broadcasting and music.
Only days before reports of his withdrawal, Daniels and Prophets of da City received recognition at the Black Entrepreneurs Alliance Awards.
He had also recently received a Western Cape government ministerial commendation for his contribution to South African hip-hop and its role in cultural identity and artistic expression.
For now, he has chosen to pursue that work outside formal party politics.
For the PMC, however, the decision creates an immediate election problem: a party that entered September with a high-profile Cape Town mayoral candidate now enters the final six weeks of campaigning without him.
