By Anita Dangazele
The ANC managed to hold onto its wards in four municipalities after recent by-elections in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo.
The elections followed the deaths of ward councillors.
In the by-elections on Wednesday, the ANC retained all four of its wards – three in the Eastern Cape and one in Limpopo’s Vhembe district.
The ANC did especially well in the Eastern Cape, where it won by large margins:
- In Mnquma Local Municipality ward 18, ANC candidate Nondumiso Victoria Mahanjana won 95% of the vote.
- In the Local Municipality of Intsika Yethu, the ANC’s Abegail Nontle Sabata got 85% of the vote.
- The party’s Pieter Hendrik Meyer won 83% of the vote in Kou-Kamma Local Municipality.
ANC Eastern Cape spokesperson Gift Ngqondi said these wins show that people still trust the party.
“The people appreciate the ANC for the good work done since 1994 to improve their lives,” Ngqondi said on Thursday.
The DA also kept two wards in Nelson Mandela Bay in Wednesday’s elections. Wards 2 and 9 became open when two DA councillors resigned to take positions in Parliament and the provincial legislature.
- Ward 2 was previously led by DA MP Renaldo Gouws, who made headlines when old racist videos of him resurfaced on social media in June. Sean Tappan is the new ward councillor.
- Ward 9 was led by Heinrich Muller, who moved to the Eastern Cape provincial legislature. Bernhard Wolf is the new ward councillor.
DA provincial chairperson Yusuf Cassim said the party won by big margins in both wards:
- In Ward 2, its support grew to 97.46% from 70% in the May elections.
- In Ward 9, its support increased to 92.06% from 81.16% in the May elections.
The ANC recently lost another ward councillor in Buffalo City Metro when Ward 20 councillor Aphiwe Gcwabe collapsed and died at a hotel in Johannesburg on 3 August.
Pictured above: DA Eastern Cape chairperson Yusuf Cassim at the voting station on Wednesday.
Source: Supplied
