Rustenburg - The Democratic Alliance recorded a landslide victory in a municipal ward by-election in Rustenburg.
The party said on Thursday that the result was a clear indication of continued growth ahead of the 2016 local government elections.
A total of 11 wards was contested in by-elections across the country on Wednesday with the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) expected to official released the results later on Thursday.
A confident Herman Groenewald, DA constituency leader in Rustenburg, however said: “The DA made a clean sweep at the polls with an 86,5% majority win. The ANC only managed to claim eight percent of the votes and the Vryheidsfront Plus 5,34%.
“These results are a clear sign that the DA continues to grow in key battleground municipalities and wards ahead of the 2016 elections, and in this round of by-elections, the DA has grown significantly across SA. The stage is set for election 2016 where the DA will make significant inroads into the ANC’s support,” he said.
Three political parties were contesting ward 17 of the Rustenburg local municipality. The ward was previously represented by the DA and became vacant as a result of the resignation of the councillor.
The DA victory meant Martin Coetzee would be the new ward 17 councillor in the Rustenburg local municipality.
ANA