The ANC has managed to hold onto eThekwini, after speculation that the biggest city in KwaZulu-Natal would be seized by an opposition coalition, as happened in the three Gauteng metros earlier this week.
Mxolisi Kaunda won 113 votes yesterday afternoon, compared to the 104 votes cast for the DA’s candidate, Nicole Graham. Two votes were spoilt.
In the 1 November election the ANC won 96 of the 222 available seats on the metro council, while the DA secured 59 seats. The EFF was the third biggest party, with 24 seats, followed by the IFP (16 seats) and ActionSA (four seats).
The rest of the council was highly fractured, with fifteen parties each winning one seat.
Initial analysis indicated that the ANC had likely managed to cobble together a coalition of many of the smaller parties, as the EFF, IFP, and ActionSA were all likely to have supported the DA and Graham.