Four by-elections were held across the country on Wednesday, with the ANC having a good day at the office. It defended three seats and snatched one off the DA in the Northern Cape.
Two by-elections were held in Buffalo City (East London). The ANC defended both seats fairly easily, although the EFF mounted a spirited challenge in both wards.
In the first by-election the ANC won 57% of the vote, a decrease compared to the 81% it won in the 2021 local government election. The EFF was second with 35% of the vote. In 2021 it had received 12%. The MK Party also fielded a candidate, who won 5%.
In the other by-election in the municipality the ANC saw a slight increase compared to how it had performed in 2021. On Wednesday it secured 62%, compared to the 56% it managed in 2021. The EFF saw its vote share jump from 14% to a third. MK also fielded a candidate, but only managed 2% in that by-election.
Elsewhere in the Eastern Cape, a by-election was held in Intsika Yethu (Cofimvaba). The ANC did not have to work up too much of a sweat to win the ward. On Wednesday it won nearly 90% of the vote, an increase over the 79% it had won in the local government poll three years ago. No other party provided much of a challenge. The African Congress for Transformation won nearly 7% in the by-election.
The final by-election was held in !Kheis (Groblershoop), a municipality south of Upington in the Northern Cape. Here the ANC took a ward off the DA.
On Wednesday the ANC won 58% of the vote, almost double the 32% it had won in 2021. By contrast, the DA saw its vote share fall from 49% to 29%. The PA, whose candidate had been the former DA ward councillor, won 13%.
The win for the ANC means it now holds six of the 11 council seats and will now be able to govern the municipality – previously !Kheis had had a DA mayor, with the support of independents and smaller parties.
Overall, it was a good day for the ANC, although the EFF’s performance in Buffalo City will give the party’s strategists something to think about.
[Image: Leopictures from Pixabay]