The ANC had a good day at the office on Wednesday, defending three seats in by-elections, while losing one in the Northern Cape.
In Kou-Kamma, on the Eastern Cape border with the Western Cape, the ANC won just below 50% of the vote on Wednesday, slightly below what it had won in the 2021 local government poll. The main challenger was the PA, which won nearly 40% of the vote.
This was the second by-election in the ward since 2021 – on that by-election, in June 2023, the ANC had also retained the seat.
In the Free State in Ngwathe (Parys) the ANC saw its vote share drop from the over 60% it won in 2021, to just below 50% on Wednesday. The EFF put up a stiff challenge, winning nearly 35% of the vote, a significant increase from the 17% it had won in 2021.
In Nama-Khoi (Springbok) in the Northern Cape the ANC retained a seat, but faced another stiff challenge, this time from the PA.
On Wednesday the ANC won 40% of the vote, a decline from the nearly two-thirds it had secured in 2021. The PA managed 30% of the vote, after winning no votes on the ward ballot in the 2021 local government election. A local party, the Namakwa Civic Movement managed 17%.
The PA’s good showing may have been because its candidate had previously been the ANC councillor for the ward, so there was likely some level of name recognition.
In the final by-election held on Wednesday, in Karoo Hoogland (Williston), also in the Northern Cape, the ANC lost a seat to the PA.
In a two-horse race the PA won 51.5% of the vote against the ANC’s 48.5%. Here too, as in Nama-Khoi, the PA candidate had previously been the ANC candidate in the ward.
Overall, the ANC will be relatively pleased with its performance on Wednesday although its one loss and slide in vote share will give the party’s strategists some food for thought.