Fourteen by-elections were held across the country on Wednesday, with the ANC and DA generally holding on to seats they were defending, although there were a number of shocks, notably in Rustenburg and eThekwini.
The DA defended two seats in Johannesburg and managed to see off any resistance there without too much effort. Rise Mzansi had put in an energetic campaign in one of the by-elections, in ward 87, which covers some of the most affluent parts of the city, but it didn’t manage to reduce DA support significantly. Here the DA won over 80% of the vote, with Rise Mzansi managing 10% and no other party showing significant support.
In the other Johannesburg by-election, the DA had an even easier day at the office, winning over 96% of the vote.
The DA also managed to hold on to a ward in Tshwane. Prior to this by-election, there was some concern that the EFF could win it, which could have implications for the city’s governing DA-led coalition, but these worries were unfounded. On Wednesday the DA won fairly comfortably with 56%, the EFF managing 19%, and the ANC 17%.
There were three by-elections in the Western Cape, with the DA defending two seats and taking another off the ANC. In Cape Town the DA defended a seat, winning with a whopping 98%. It did something similar in Stellenbosch, defending a ward with 96%.
In Cederberg it snatched a seat off the ANC. In a closely fought battle, the DA won 1 098 votes to the ANC’s 1 054, with the PA coming third with 552 votes. The Cederberg First Residents’ Association (CFRA), which had performed well in the 2021 local government election in the ward, did not field a candidate and it’s likely that its support coalesced behind the DA. This also changes the balance of power in the municipality, with the CFRA and the DA holding six of the municipality’s eleven seats.
In eThekwini it was a different story for the DA, with an independent winning a ward that the party was defending. Andrew Akkers, the chairman of the local ratepayers’ group, won the by-election with just under 50% of the vote, with the DA falling to fourth behind Akkers, the ANC, and MK.
The DA defended another seat in Madibeng (Brits), where it won 56% of the vote, with the ANC being the only other party to field a candidate.
The ANC also defended a seat in Madibeng, winning 75% of the vote, an increase from the 61% it had won in the 2021 local government election.
Elsewhere in North-West the ANC did not fare as well, being shocked by MK in a seat in Rustenburg. Here former President Jacob Zuma’s party won 43% on Wednesday, with the ANC securing 33% and the EFF 24%. This is the MK Party’s only second municipal councillor, and the first outside KwaZulu-Natal.
In Moretele, on the border North West shares with Gauteng, the ANC defended a seat with 58% of the vote. It was another good outing for MK, with 25% of the vote.
In Ngwathe (Parys) in the northern Free State, the ANC defended a seat fairly easily, winning over 60% of the vote in Wednesday’s poll. The only resistance was from the African Congress for Transformation, the party formed by former ANC secretary-general, Ace Magashule, which won just over 30%.
The ANC defended another seat in Steve Tshwete (Middelburg) winning just over 50% of the vote, with the opposition being split between MK, the EFF, and a local party.
The final by-election was held in Nkomazi (Malalane) in eastern Mpumalanga. Here the ANC had an easy day at the office, winning over 80% of the vote, with MK performing fairly well with over 16% of the vote.
Overall, the ANC will be disappointed with its performance in more urban areas, but it held up fairly well in the rural contests. The DA had a good day out except for the loss in eThekwini, while MK will be pleased with its win in Rustenburg. The EFF continues to perform poorly in by-elections, and the party could be starting to worry whether its poor performance in the May national election is a trend rather than a blip.