MK party recorded their first local government election victory with a by-election win in a former ANC ward in the Western Cape.
uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) has made another dent in the ANC’s local government footprint.
Three by-elections were held across the country on Wednesday, one each in the Western Cape, Northern Cape and Gauteng.
All three wards were previously held by the ANC and became vacant after the incumbent councillors passed away in recent months.
MK Party win in Western Cape
MKP claimed victory in the Western Cape, while the ANC retained the two wards in the Northern Cape and Gauteng.
Mzwandile Biko will be the new councillor for ward 1 in Saldanha Bay after winning 36.33% of the vote.
He defeated the ANC’s Siyabulelo Mafuneka by 10%, while the Patriotic Alliance and EFF gathered 19% and 14%, respectively.
Saldanha Bay’s ward 1 covers the Middlepos area, and roughly 3 300 residents made their way to the polls.
The Democratic Alliance and Good Party collectively amassed less than 3%, or just 93 votes.
ANC win in Northern Cape
Further north, the ANC retained ward 1 in the Joe Morolong Municipality near the Botswana border.
In a three-horse race, the ANC’s Pako Matthews Bareki defeated the EFF’s Tshiamo Sekgetho and MKP’s Otshepeng Smock.
Bareki earned 54% of the vote, while Sekgetho and Smock earned 40% and 6%, respectively.
“EFF retained the Perth voting district and also picked up the Kome voting district to win half of the voting districts. Heuningvlei was key to the ANC win,” stated election data analyst Wayne Sussman via social media.
ANC victory in central Johannesburg
In central Johannesburg, the ANC received more than double the votes of their nearest competitor.
Sthembiso Hlatshwayo will be the new ward 59 councillor after earning 1 067 votes, compared to the 402 cast for MKP and 312 cast for the EFF.
Two other parties contested the by-election, with the IFP receiving 115 votes and the Truth and Solidarity Movement receiving one solitary vote.
Ward 59 is among the smallest in Johannesburg, covering 13 blocks sandwiched between Park Station and Joubert Park.
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