Court reserves judgment in DA councillor AK Elyas’s bid to overturn expulsion

The Western Cape High Court has reserved judgment on expelled Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor Abdulkader “AK” Elyas’s urgent bid to regain party membership and keep his Cape Town council seat. He also wants the party barred from filling the seat and his name restored to its proportional representation candidate list ahead of the November 4 local government elections. The dispute concerns Elyas’s role as Ground War Lead/Manager on the DA’s Western Cape election campaign team, which he says the party assigned to him. DA Federal Council chairperson Ashor Sarupen argues that Elyas breached a 2024 disciplinary agreement made after he accepted responsibility for misrepresenting his qualifications.