The Democratic Alliance and Inkatha Freedom Party retained all their wards in the province, while the MK party took one off the ANC. (Photo by Ihsaan Haffejee/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Despite uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party roping in its national organiser, Floyd Shivambu, to campaign in eThekwini’s ward 33 on Tuesday, former president Jacob Zuma’s party dropped its initial support there from the May elections results.
In the 29 May general elections, the MK party received 26.36% of votes from the ward, but in Wednesday’s by-elections, this dropped significantly to 14.51% of the votes. The ANC further slumped from the 28.9% it received in May to 4.93% this week, while the Democratic Alliance (DA) more than doubled its support from 39.21% to 80.56%.
The Economic Freedom Fighters did not contest the ward, or any of the three other eThekwini wards in which by-elections were held on Wednesday.
A total of 23 by-elections took place in 14 municipalities IN Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Limpopo and North West.
In KwaZulu-Natal, nine by-elections were held IN nine municipalities, seven of these were as a result of resignations by councillors who have assumed seats in the provincial legislature. Two vacancies occurred because the incumbents died.
KwaZulu-Natal electoral officer Futhi Masinga said the voter turnout was “not great”, averaging 40%. The lowest turnout was in eThekwini metro, at just 19%.
The province’s highest turnout was in the Mooi Mpofana municipality (54%) and Ray Nkonyeni municipality (52%), where the MK party won the only ward it took this week.
The DA retained five seats in the province, the ANC two seats and the Inkatha Freedom party retained ward four in Nkandla.
Masinga said that there had been no problems reported to the Electoral Commission of South Africa by the parties, which had until 5pm last Friday to raise any issues that might have had a material effect on the outcome of the by-elections.
After the MK party’s surprise by-election victory in Photsaneng in North West two weeks ago, the ANC in Gauteng took no chances and brought out its top guns to campaign for the party in Soweto, Lenasia and Mogale City on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The ANC won two of the three wards it contested in Gauteng, with the third being won by Al Jama-ah in Lenasia.
ANC first deputy secretary general Nomvula Mokonyane campaigned for the party in Soweto and Mogale City on Tuesday, while the party sent its provincial and regional leaders for the final push for votes in ward 21 in Tladi-Moletsane on Wednesday.
Among the leaders sent to counter the MK threat were Gauteng ANC chair Panyaza Lesufi, provincial secretary TK Nciza, Johannesburg regional leader Dada Morero and Johannesburg regional secretary Sasabone Manganyi.