DA retains three wards in municipal by-elections

31 May 2018 - 14:17 By Claudi Mailovich
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Image: Gallo Images

The DA retained three wards in municipal by-elections on Tuesday‚ but lost support in two of the wards which are in the Western Cape.

In the wards in the Saldanha Bay and Oudtshoorn municipalities‚ the party’s victory margins decreased significantly.

Charleen Claudette van Nooi became the ward councillor in ward 3 in Saldanha Bay with a reduced margin of 52.82% of the votes cast compared to 69.99% in the 2016 municipal elections. 

Marcellis Bouvier Gregory Theyse is the new councillor in Ward 13 in Oudtshoorn. The party retained the seat it won in the 2016 Municipal Elections‚ however with a reduced margin of 50.59% of the votes cast compared to 60.19% in 2016‚ the Independent Electoral Commission said in a statement on Wednesday.

The DA in the Western Cape has hit some turbulence as political infighting in the Cape Town metro has taken centre stage over the past few months‚ with the party attempting to remove Cape Town mayor Patricia De Lille through multiple avenues.

The party however increased its support in ward 10 in Ethekwini in KwaZulu-Natal where Terence Peter Collins is now the ward councillor. The DA retained the seat with an increased margin of 94.23% of the votes cast compared to 91.13% in the 2016 municipal elections.

The Inkatha Freedom Party also retained its seat in ward 7 in the Nkandla Municipality and increased its support from 51.26% in 2016 to 53.33% in Wednesday’s election. Former president Jacob Zuma had campaigned for the ANC ahead of the elections in the municipality‚ where he resides.


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