ANC hopeful of victory in hotly contested KZN by-election

Despite receiving a bloody nose in a number of recent key by-elections in the province‚ the ANC said it was confident voters still trust in it and that it will emerge victorious in the Umlalazi municipality’s Ward 10 by-election in Eshowe‚ northern KwaZulu-Natal‚ on Wednesday.

Speaking during the monitoring of the by-election provincial ANC secretary Super Zuma was upbeat about their chances. “The people have been trickling in good numbers and we are very confident we will retain this ward. People trust the ANC and I will just say; so far so good‚” he said.

The voting process is one of the five by-elections in the country that the ANC is contesting on Wednesday. Other by-elections are one in the Eastern Cape‚ two in the Free State and one in the Western Cape.

The hotly contested Ward 10 in Umlalazi was left vacant following the death of Elliot Zwane‚ who won it for the ANC in last year’s August local government elections.

While it received 53.3 percent of the votes in those elections with the IFP receiving 40.09 percent‚ the ANC was leaving nothing to chance for this year's event.

A councillor at the municipality who didn't want to be named said losing the ward would have detrimental effects in its majority.

“Coalitions are the order of the day. If we lose this ward by receiving less than 50 percent‚ the opposition parties will easily gang up with the IFP and topple us‚” he said.

The ward is being contested by Thokozani Sibonelo Leo Ziqubu of the ANC. He is battling it out with DA’s Mavis Fikile Mdluli‚ Siyabonga Mpheni Ntombela of the EFF and IFP’s Sibonakaliso Freedom Mdletshe.

The voter turnout for this ward was 59.85% last year.

The ANC lost a number of wards in KwaZulu-Natal in 2017‚ including a massive by-election in Nquthu where its support was severely curtailed.

On Wednesday the party sent in its top brass – four of the top five officials - to a number of voting stations to urge community members to go out and vote.