Johannesburg - Divided opposition parties in Ekurhuleni gave the ANC a plain sailing victory that resulted in the party retaining control of the only metro council in Gauteng.
While a victory for the ANC looked clear before Tuesday's elections for the new council, its victory margin of 11 votes for the mayor and speaker over its closest rival, the DA, showed opposition parties were not voting as a unit.
Prior to these elections, the ANC entered into an election pact with the African Independent Congress (AIC) and the PAC.
The AIC had secured four seats and the PAC got one seat, and with the ANC, which secured 109, would have given the governing party a majority of 114 to control the Council. The metro has a total seat 224 councillors, which included the position of mayor and speaker.
While the ANC was confident its pact would allow it to retain control of the metro, it, however, got far more than it bargained for. The ANC and DA were equally confident of victory, but all that changed soon after the nomination of ANC’s Patricia Kumalo and Shadow Shabangu of the DA for the position of speaker.
While everyone expected the ANC and DA to scramble for votes, it was the margin of support Kumalo received that showed the governing party was destined for votes. Kumalo received 117, while Shabangu managed to secure only 106.
This was a common trend also when mayor elect Mzwandile Masina was elected to the position. Apart from AIC and PAC, the ANC also obtained the support of Patriotic Alliance and the Independent Ratepayers Association of SA (Irasa), under veteran councillor Izak Berg.
The other remaining parties, the EFF, Cope, IFP, FFP and ACDP had pledged to vote as a coalition for the DA, but one councillor gave his vote to the ANC, which led to the sharp reduction of the DA vote.
Berg, the sole Irasa councillor in Ekurhuleni, confirmed he voted for the ANC. He said: “I voted for a candidate who lives in Ekurhuleni. I could not vote for someone who lives in Johannesburg.”