SACP keeps red flag flying in Sasolburg poll debut

03 December 2017 - 00:03 By JAN-JAN JOUBERT and OLEBOGENG MOLATLHWA

The SACP emerged as kingmaker from its first electoral outing in 67 years, after taking three seats in this week's hotly contested election in the Free State's Metsimaholo municipality.
The council was dissolved earlier this year because no one could form a functioning government, and after this week's election it seems it may be as difficult to do so.
The ANC took a thumping, falling from 45% support last year to 34% this week, and the opposition vote splintered.
The DA went down from 29% to 28% while the EFF rose from 17% to 19%, Freedom Front Plus climbed from 2% to 3% and the civics fell from 4% to 2%.
The big winner was the SACP, which went from a zero base to 9%."We are happy that we held all 16 of our wards, but are unhappy that the EFF and the SACP, which are the ANC's offshoot, are taking votes from us.
"At the same time, the lower turnout in Metsimaholo means any comparison with last year's result is flawed," said Sangoni.
Earlier in the week, SACP Metsimaholo candidate Themba November, who did well in ward 10, told the Sunday Times that reasoning with the ANC was futile. He likened interactions to "speaking to a brick wall".
But the expectation is that, much as SACP leaders in Metsimaholo are fed up with the ANC, the SACP's national leadership will be under pressure from Luthuli House not to turn on its long-time ally.
James Selfe, chairman of the DA federal executive, said his party had a tough election in Metsimaholo, with disenchantment with the previous coalition government breeding low turnout among white voters.
"We are very pleased that our black support has increased enough to set off that loss," said Selfe.
He expressed gratitude to the EFF for supporting DA metro mayors Herman Mashaba in Johannesburg and Athol Trollip in Nelson Mandela Bay against ANC motions of no confidence this week. "The co-operative agreement held, and will become more stable as time passes and we get to know one another better," said Selfe.
This week brought more good news for the opposition when the IFP took a ward off the ANC in the uMlalazi municipality at Eshowe, Zululand.
The DA held on to ward 102 (Brackenfell) in Cape Town and the ANC did the same in the Eastern Cape's Nyandeni municipality, both by reduced majorities in low turnouts...

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