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Mpumalanga

THE ANC has taken a knock in three municipalities in Mpumalanga that have suffered from poor service delivery and been plagued by protests in the past few months.

The party has had a firm grip on the municipalities over the years, but the opposition parties have won an increased share of the vote in the local government elections.

The communities have complained about the government’s lack of action against the municipalities and officials who are responsible for the problems.

The business community has also complained that poor service delivery was threatening to suffocate the sector and shut down businesses. | IOL

Vote-rigging

THE Mpumalanga SAPS have been asked by political parties to investigate allegations of vote-rigging after the discovery of a batch of ballot papers stuffed in a refuse plastic bag and unsealed ballot boxes in Bushbuckridge.

The IEC stationery, which included ballot papers and unsealed ballot boxes were found inside a taxi on Tuesday, a day after the election. The vehicle was allegedly not escorted by the SAPS.

The EFF, Better Residents Association and the African People’s Convention have since pressed charges against the implicated IEC staff for allegedly tampering with ballot boxes. | IOL

EFF

THE EFF is the only political party in the top three to grow consistently, from the 2016 municipal elections, says EFF deputy president Floyd Shivambu, reacting to the municipal election results.

“The others have reduced drastically in terms of the number of votes that they have, but also in terms of the number of public representatives that are going to represent them in different municipalities,” he says. | IOL