Election posters on Freedom Square in Bloemfontein. Municipal by-elections were held in Ward 7, Ward 29, Ward 49 and Ward 50 on 19 July.
Mlungesse Low / Gallo Images / Volksblad
- The ANC suffered two major defeats to the Federation in the KwaZulu-Natal by-election on Wednesday.
- However, she won in Manjung in the Free State, where she is expected to consolidate her power by electing the head of her own council.
- Out of 11 by-elections, EFF, GOOD and other parties have failed to secure a single ward.
The Afghan Islamic Front continued to bite the ANC’s electoral base in KwaZulu-Natal as it clinched another wing in Wednesday’s by-elections.
The party wrestled Ward 6 in the ANC’s Mthunaniye Municipality while retaining Ward 2 in the Nkandla Municipality – the backyard of former ANC Jacob Zuma.
Voters in the Mthonjaneni ward placed their confidence in the IFP with 1,377 votes, followed by 727 votes for the ANC, 45 votes for the EFF candidate and 46 votes for an independent candidate.
“This amazing victory is testament to the confidence shown by the Mthunani people in the ability of the IFP to deliver services and uplift their communities,” said Thami Ntuli, President of IFP KwaZulu-Natal.
Read | KwaZulu-Natal by-election shows IFP growth can pose serious threat to ANC
He described the victory as “clear and decisive”.
In Nkandla, the IFP received 1,363 votes against the ANC’s 383.
Natoli said:
The party won both of these hotly contested by-elections despite numerous attempts by the ANC to influence the results through various tactics, including using government departments, to campaign for them via MECs and cabinet members.
He said the victories were a clear message to the ANC: their affiliation with the party “no longer has much value in the eyes of communities” in KwaZulu-Natal.
“People are now aware of the ANC’s failed strategy and tactics of using government departments during by-elections, only to disappear once the by-elections are over.”
He said the by-election indicated “declining support for the entire KwaZulu-Natal government, as well as Prime Minister Nomosa Dube-Ncube”.
Meanwhile, the ANC defeated the bid of a group of disaffected former councilors, known as the Mangaung 7, who campaigned to wrest power from the ruling party through a coalition in the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality of the Free State.
From this group, four former ANC House members registered as independent candidates after being expelled to vote with the DA to elect Maryke Davies as Speaker of Mangaung.
Pochabello residents await food parcels from the government in Bloemfontein, ahead of municipal by-elections in Ward 7, Ward 29, Ward 49 and Ward 50.
The ANC retained all four seats in Manjung, enabling its 51 out of 101 council members, to impeach Davies.
Meanwhile, the DA won two of the three by-elections in George, Western Cape, with the National Alliance (PA) winning one ward with 1,398 votes.
Victory in George It comes after a dispute between the DA and the good party over allegations of fraud.
However, the Electoral Court denied GOOD’s request to postpone the by-election in George, as the party alleged that the DA had committed voter registration fraud.
The ANC won the only by-election in the Senkou Municipality of the Eastern Cape with 787 votes.
She also won the only contested ward of the North West by 1,225 votes.
Overall, the ANC has won six by-elections across the country. IFP filled with two wings; DA has also won two; one pa; While EFF and the other contestants came away empty-handed.