Johannesburg - The ANC has set the tone for the upcoming local government elections, retaining a majority of wards while winning three more.
ANC head of elections Fikile Mbalula said they were humbled by the support given to the party by the voters.
He said the party won 29 of the 40 wards that were contested by various parties.
“The outcomes of recently held by-elections clearly demonstrate that the ANC continues to grow its support across the country. Voters have demonstrated their confidence in the leadership of the ANC by returning it to power in wards it has previously won, and voting out other parties in many wards,” said the ANC in a statement.
The by-elections - held on Wednesday and Thursday - saw 145 candidates from 29 political parties and 8 independents contest 40 wards in 7 provinces, with a total of 362 965 registered voters. Eighty-six (59.31%) candidates were male and 59 (40.69%) female.
The Electoral Commission (IEC) announced on Thursday that the ANC had retained 27 wards, lost 1 ward and won 3 new wards, while their main rival, the DA, retained 6 wards and lost 4 wards.
The Patriotic Alliance (PA) won 2 new wards. The PA shocked the DA in Ward 18 (Eldorado Park) in Johannesburg and polled 62% of the votes, while the DA registered 22% and ANC 12%. The EFF got 2%.
In 2016 the DA got 9 535 more votes than the PA.
The IFP retained 1 ward and won 1 ward.
The Better Residents Association lost its ward in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, to the ANC.
“Average turnout in the by-elections was 31.94%, with the highest turnout being 36.63% (ward 28 in Mnquma EC122) and the lowest being 6.64% (ward 58 in Tshwane Metro TSH),” said the IEC in a statement.
The City of Joburg is currently governed by a coalition of parties, but ANC Joburg spokesperson Sasabona Manganye said he was confident that the party would win with a majority in the upcoming elections.
“We are very impressed about the outcomes of yesterday’s (Wednesday’s) by-elections. This vindicates us in our quest that the DA is not an organisation of the people of this country. They continuously reject the DA and we are very happy about the outcomes,” said Manganye.
Political Bureau