There were seven by-elections held across the country on Wednesday, with the DA and the ANC both having a mixed day out.
The DA was defending three seats, one in Gauteng and two in the western Cape.
In Kempton Park in Ekurhuleni the DA defended a seat without too much trouble, with its candidate winning nearly 90% of the vote. The only opposition came from the EFF which won nearly 10%.
In Theewaterskloof in the Western Cape the DA narrowly saw off a challenge from GOOD and the PA to hold on to its seat. In the by-election, the DA managed 28.4% of the vote, while GOOD got 26.1% and the PA 20%. The DA had won over 50% of the vote in the 2021 local government election in the ward.
It was a different story in George, where the DA was defending another seat.
Here the PA had a barnstorming performance, winning nearly two-thirds of the vote after managing only 5% in the 2021 local poll. The DA won just below a third of the ward on Wednesday.
The ward had been a fairly marginal ward, with the DA winning it in 2021 with only 36% of the vote, with the opposition vote being split between the PA, GOOD, and a local party. It seems that on Wednesday the anti-DA vote coalesced around the PA.
The ANC also had a mixed day out.
In Nala (Bothaville) in the northern Free State, the ANC defended a ward with 53% of the vote on Wednesday, a slight decline from what it won in 2021. The EFF won 14%, while two independents also stood, with one winning a quarter of the vote and the other 7%.
The ANC also easily defended a seat in Madibeng (Brits), winning nearly 80% of the vote, an increase over the 69% it secured in 2021, with only the EFF showing any resistance.
In KwaZulu-Natal the ANC lost a seat to the IFP in Newcastle. On Wednesday the IFP managed just under 50% of the vote, nearly doubling its share compared to its result in the 2021 local government election. The ANC saw its vote share sink from nearly 40% to 15%. Two other parties, the EFF and Team Sugar South Africa, each won just over 10%.
In uPhongolo the IFP held a seat, but what will be interesting to politics watchers is how well the MK Party did. On Wednesday, the party formed by former President Jacob Zuma won nearly 30%. The IFP held the seat with 36%, a decline from the nearly 50% it won in 2021, while the ANC was third with 33%, a decline of ten percentage points compared to what it won in 2021.
Overall, it was a mixed day for both the DA and the ANC, and both parties will have much to think about ahead of this year’s national elections.