One by-election was held on Wednesday, with the ANC easily holding the ward.
The election was held in Bushbuckridge, on the border of the Kruger National Park. The by-election was necessary because the sitting councillor, Lot Nkuna, had been murdered in September last year.
On Wednesday the ANC won 66.8% of the vote. The EFF was the only significant challenger, with 32.1%.
In the 2021 local government election, the ANC had won 56.1% of the vote in the ward, with the EFF managing 4%. An independent, Jerry Nonyane, had won over 30% in the vote in the local government election, but on Wednesday he stood as the EFF’s candidate in the ward.
The EFF’s good performance in the by-election may have come from support for Nonyane rather than any real support for the Red Berets.