ELECTION RESULTS IN A NUTSHELL

Party secures nine seats in council – De Wet

THE DA says its support has increased by almost 50% in the Lukhanji area, soon to merge with Tsolwana and Inkwanca to form the new Enoch Mgijima municipality.

DA caucus leader Chris de Wet said this week the DA would hold a total of nine councillor positions in the new council. Two wards were also now under DA control – Wards 9 and 10, both based in Komani.

De Wet thanked voters, who had voted for the party and its activists, saying the elections were only the beginning of the journey with much hard work lying ahead.

“It is our single most important mission to serve you, as the voter/resident of our municipality, and to make our support grow in all areas and suburbs. For this goal, we will continue to work hard to serve the people of this municipality. We also invite all like-minded residents, whether you voted for us or not, to join hands with us in our mission to make our town and municipality the “Jewel of the Eastern Cape” once again. “Although it looks impossible now, you have to believe, just as we did in Nelson Mandela Bay, that we can and will turn things around.”

De Wet said the 2016 Local Government Elections represented a watershed moment in the post-apartheid political landscape.

“For the first time, the ANC regime, under the corrupt leadership of Jacob Zuma, is facing the possibility of losing its 50% national majority in the 2019 elections. It has become very clear, through the nationwide results, that a growing number of our people are starting to reject the corrupt rule of the ANC. The DA now has complete control of the Cape Metropole as well as the Western Cape,” he said.

He said the most astonishing outcome has been the spectacular growth of the DA in all of South Africa’s metros, "to the extent that it now holds the majority vote in Nelson Mandela Bay [Port Elizabeth], Tshwane [Pretoria], and a very close second in the Johannesburg Metro.

“All over South Africa, sound-minded people are choosing a corruption-free and efficient local government; where freedom, fairness and opportunity prevail, by deciding to vote for the DA."

He said the DA in the Enoch Mgijima area would soon introduce its councillors to the public – as well as share its plans for the next five years.

MPL Celeste Barker said the DA had grown its seats to 7 and 17 in its constituency area, which stretches from Lukhanji to Indwe to Elliot and Cala.– Rep reporter