Durban – The 18 hung municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal, including the eThekwini Municipality, could prove troublesome for South Africa’s Local Government Association (Salga) and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) in KZN.
The Electoral Commission of SA in the KZN province released the preliminary results for the 2021 local government elections on Thursday at the results centre in Mayville, Durban.
The eThekwini Municipality, KZN’s only metropolitan area with a population of just over three million people, is one of the hung municipalities announced by the IEC, indicating that the ANC has lost its majority vote.
The 18 hung councils are eThekwini, uMdoni, Msunduzi, uMuziwabantu, iNkosi Langalibalele, Alfred Duma, uMvoti, Newcastle, Dannhauser, eDumbe, AbaQulusi, Nongoma, uMhlabuyalingana, Mtubatuba, uMhlathuze, Mthonjaneni, Kwadukuza and Mapumulo.
The ruling party has seen its control in eThekwini diminished by the DA, IFP and the EFF.
Presenting the results, the IEC’s assistant manager of electoral operations in KZN Godfrey Naidoo, said that the results would pose a challenge for parties to create an administration to run the hung councils.
Naidoo noted KZN premier and ANC chairperson Sihle Zikalala as he held his head in his hands while listening to the announcement on the number of hung municipalities.
“It is a headache for all parties and I think our colleagues from Cogta and Salga, who sit with us, I think it's their headache as well to manage these councils and a way forward,” Naidoo said.
Naidoo also presented the results for the parties that have won a majority vote (over 50%) across the province, which was tightly contested between the ANC and the IFP. A look at the IEC’s map showed the IFP dominating in northern KZN, while the ANC claimed the southern parts and some in the west.
The ANC won 742 council seats, IFP 527 and the DA got 165.
IEC acting electoral officer in KZN Ntombifuthi Masinga said the results were not the official results as the rules dictate that official election results can only be published seven days after the elections. The commission will also have to deal with objections and complaints before it can publish the official results.
The province had 5 447 815 voters which represented 21% of the national voter population and had 4 940 voting stations. Seventy-eight parties contested in the province, which was an increase of 50 since the 2011 elections, where only 28 parties contested.
Premier Zikalala accepted the results from Masinga on behalf of the province and also thanked the IEC for hosting the election. Zikalala said that now that the results are out, it is time to respond to the needs of communities.
“As we accept these results today, as a government we will play our part in facilitating a smooth transition and re-establishment of all municipal councils. Now that the elections are decided, it is time to respond to the needs of the communities.
“Voting is the beginning of the long and arduous journey to grow KwaZulu-Natal, and indeed South Africa. The real electoral victory will gain momentum when we address all communities, even those who did not vote for us. This is the time to translate all the manifestos into workable plans of action and tangible delivery to our communities,” Zikalala said.
Political Bureau