The ANC has again emerged as the biggest winner in this year’s second by-elections after it clinched five new wards and retained 12.
In Wednesday’s by-elections, 24 wards were up for grabs across 17 municipalities. The ANC only lost one ward, in Overstrand municipality in the Western Cape, to the Land Party.
Its most effective victory was in Oudtshoorn municipality in the Western Cape, where the party won two wards from the DA, leading to the party losing its outright majority in the council.
The DA managed to retain six wards and lost two in all the by-elections it was contesting.
In Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, the ANC won a further three wards from the Better Residents Association, but the win did not change leadership dynamics in the municipality as the ANC was already in charge.
In a statement on Thursday, the ANC in the Western Cape said it was confident it would win more seats now held by the DA in the Oudtshoorn municipality.
“Pushing the DA down from its majority is a major achievement. It is proof that the DA can be beaten, and in fact, is continuing to decline. Oudtshoorn is an encouragement for next year’s local government elections,” the party said.
It said it was disappointed that it lost its ward to the Land Party in Overstrand municipality.
In its own statement, the DA downplayed its losses in Oudtshoorn and its failure to win any new wards.
This is the second time the party has lost wards to the ANC in just a month, after it lost nine wards it previously controlled during the so called “super-Wednesday” by-elections last month.
Party spokesperson Siviwe Gwarube blamed its losses in Oudtshoorn on the resignations of disgruntled councillors.
“Organisations must go through a period of renewal and regrowth. This inevitably led to some disgruntled councillors, most of them facing disciplinary action, leaving the party. This is what happened in Oudtshoorn, where we have lost two wards.
“The DA is the only major party that is prepared to take firm action to ensure good governance is in place, even if doing so may generate temporary setbacks. We learnt lessons from the review panel report and listened to our voters and will continue to do so,” she said.
Despite their setbacks, Gwarube said the results indicated that the DA was on a steady course of regrowth, while the ANC continued its decline.
“The reality is that this party cannot and will not bring real hope or real change in this local government context,” she said.
In other provinces, the DA managed to hold on to wards 27 and 28 in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, while the ANC held on to ward 42.
The ANC also managed to retain its two wards in Raymond Mhlaba and Engcobo municipalities in the Eastern Cape.
In the Free State, the ANC held on to its two wards in Dihlabeng and Mangaung municipalities, while in Limpopo it did the same, retaining wards from Musina and Blouberg councils.
In eThekwini municipality, in KZN, the DA retained its ward while the party also kept two others in the City of Cape Town.
TimesLIVE
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