A desperate search is under way for a traitor within the ANC's ranks after a spoilt ballot caused the party to lose a crucial Zululand mayoral position to the IFP.It was always going to be tense inside the Jozini municipality council chambers on Friday morning, with the ANC-led faction and the IFP-led faction having 20 local councillors each.The positions for mayor, deputy mayor, speaker and chief whip - none of which had been elected in four previous attempts - were expected to be decided by the drawing of lots or the tossing of a coin.But as an Independent Electoral Commission official tallied the ballots for speaker post, the first vote of the day, it emerged that one ballot paper had been spoilt, handing victory to the IFP's Lindiwe Gumbi by 20 votes to 19 over the ANC's Zanele Nyawo.It soon emerged that a single ballot for mayor had been spoilt in an identical manner - with an X straddling the line separating the names of the two candidates - costing the ANC the coveted post.The IFP's Delani Mabika left the council chamber as the new mayor, leaving the ANC flummoxed."It was a complete surprise to us. We will investigate who was responsible," ANC spokesman in the province Mdumiseni Ntuli said.By yesterday the culprit still hadn't been identified, but Ntuli vowed to continue searching.Some speculation was that it was Siphamandla Mathenjwa, an independent candidate who sided with the ANC to form it s 20-strong faction which had broken ranks but Ntuli was adamant that it was one of the ANC's own."During the course of the negotiations between ourselves and the other political parties, when we were trying to find a solution here, we got to know that some of our own comrades were also negotiating outside of the formal process we had agreed on."Some of the commitments they were making were commitments that they would give the IFP the speaker post and the ANC takes the mayor position, which is a departure from the ANC's position that we take the mayor and speaker and give away the deputy mayor."It's clear to us that it was someone within our own councillors."..