ANC humbled by confidence of citizens after scooping three wards

14 August 2014 - 12:46 By Sapa
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The ANC on Thursday said it was humbled after scooping three wards previously held by other political parties in Wednesday's by-elections.

"The African National Congress is humbled by the confidence South Africans continue to show in the ability of the ANC to move our country forward," party spokesman Zizi Kodwa said in a statement.

"They [citizens] communicate loudly through the ballot box that the ANC is a representation of the aspirations of our people and no amount of political posturing by other political parties... will convince them otherwise."

By-elections were held in 25 wards across the country on Wednesday, and the ANC scooped three wards previously held by other parties and an independent candidate.

ANC candidate Thozamile Qushani won Ward 40 in Port Elizabeth from the Democratic Alliance with 50.59% of the vote.

The ruling party secured Ward four in Indaka, KwaZulu-Natal, with 59% of the vote. The ward was previously held by the Inkatha Freedom Party.

The ANC also won Ward 25 in Rustenburg with 73% of the vote. The ward was previously held by an independent candidate.

In total, the ANC won eight wards in the by-elections, three of which were uncontested -- Emakhazeni (Belfast) in Mpumalanga, and Wards six and 12 in Rustenburg in the North West.

The DA won 17 wards in total, but 16 of them were retained from previous elections.

The only ward it scooped from the ANC was Ward 20 in Polokwane, Limpopo, with 64% of the vote.

A total of 63,065 South Africans cast their votes in the by-elections out of a registered population of 198,640.

The IEC recorded 304 spoilt votes.

Port Alfred was the only ward to record no spoilt votes.

Ward 25 in Rustenburg recorded the highest number of spoilt votes at 102.

DA leader Helen Zille also claimed victory on Thursday for winning 17 wards in "major towns and cities".

"The DA thanks all its supporters across South Africa for coming out in their numbers yesterday," she said in a statement.

"Through this momentum, we will ensure that the battle for change in South Africa's cities will be on like never before in 2016."

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