CAPE TOWN, Thursday 1 October 2026 — The Democratic Alliance has terminated the membership of City of Cape Town councillor Abdulkader “AK” Elyas with immediate effect after its Federal Executive considered an internal disciplinary recommendation, removing the party’s fourth-ranked proportional-representation candidate from its Cape Town election slate little more than a month before the 4 November local government elections.
The decision was taken on Wednesday night following renewed scrutiny of an earlier DA disciplinary process in which Elyas admitted providing false or inaccurate information about academic qualifications.
His termination means he will no longer contest the Cape Town election for the DA.
Federal Executive backs termination
The DA’s Federal Legal Commission recommended Elyas’s expulsion before the matter went to the party’s Federal Executive.
The Citizen reported that the recommendation was adopted by a 16-8 vote.
The decision follows several weeks of renewed controversy over Elyas’s position in the party after it emerged that he had been placed fourth on the DA’s Cape Town PR candidate list.
That position placed him behind prominent senior DA figures including Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis.
A high PR-list ranking is significant because proportional-representation seats are allocated according to a party’s electoral performance.
The DA currently governs Cape Town with an outright majority and is campaigning to retain control of the metro.
Elyas previously admitted false qualification information
The dispute dates back several years.
A DA Federal Legal Commission plea-and-penalty agreement signed in September 2024 recorded five disciplinary findings relating to false or inaccurate information about qualifications Elyas had claimed.
Reporting on the disciplinary record identified qualifications including a BCom Economics with Finance, Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery and studies involving actuarial science, economics and finance.
The University of Cape Town previously confirmed that its records did not show Elyas completing the medicine or actuarial-science qualifications associated with the controversy.
The Health Professions Council of South Africa also confirmed that he had been registered as a medical student but had not progressed to registration as a qualified medical practitioner.
The disciplinary allegations went beyond statements made publicly or on social media.
Reporting on the agreement indicates that inaccurate qualification information was also supplied during DA applications and candidate-selection processes.
Earlier termination had been suspended
Elyas was not immediately removed from the DA following the earlier disciplinary proceedings.
The sanction included termination of his membership, but that penalty was suspended for the remainder of his term as a City of Cape Town public representative or until the 2026 local government elections, subject to conditions.
He consequently remained a councillor.
The controversy returned to prominence in September after Elyas emerged fourth on the DA’s Cape Town PR candidate list.
That prompted questions from opposition parties and within the DA over how a councillor with the disciplinary findings had obtained such a high position in the party’s 2026 candidate-selection process.
The DA initially defended the integrity of its candidate-selection and disciplinary procedures.
Western Cape DA leader Tertuis Simmers said earlier in September that the historical disciplinary matter had been dealt with and that the party had confidence in the processes used to assess candidates.
Decision changes DA’s Cape Town slate
Wednesday night’s decision changes that position.
Elyas will no longer be able to contest the election as a DA candidate following the termination of his membership.
The development is particularly significant because he was not positioned near the bottom of a lengthy candidate list but was ranked fourth in the DA’s proportional-representation contest for South Africa’s second-largest metro.
The DA will now have to deal with the electoral consequences of his removal through the applicable candidate-list procedures ahead of polling day.
The IEC’s rules and election timetable determine the circumstances in which parties can alter certified candidate information.
Any subsequent adjustment to the DA’s Cape Town list will therefore be an important next development ahead of the 4 November vote.
