Nquthu – Although disappointed by low votes it attained in KwaZulu-Natal's Nquthu municipality by-elections, the governing African National Congress (ANC) welcomed the by-election results that saw the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) win with an outright majority.
"We would like to take this opportunity and congratulate the Independent Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) for once again delivering credible, free and fair elections, in which we can all have confidence in," said ANC spokesman Zizi Kodwa.
"The ANC appreciates the support it received in a number of wards it retained. Even though we have never won the Nquthu Municipality outright, we are nonetheless disappointed with the loss of majority in wards in the municipality."
The IFP won 14 of the 17 wards, while the remaining three were won by the ANC. The area is traditionally an IFP stronghold.
Of the 33 council seats, the IFP clinched 19, 11 went to the ANC, while the Democratic Alliance (DA), Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the National Freedom Party (NFP) got one seat each.
The hotly contested by-elections were called after the council was dissolved over incessant squabbling among the coalition partners. At the last polls in 2016, the ANC attained 42 percent of the votes, which led to a coalition.
The council has, however, not been able to sit because of inter-party squabbles, which in turn affected service delivery.