ANC, DA retain wards in by-elections

During Wednesday’s by-elections, the ANC and Democratic Alliance (DA) retained the wards they previously held.

In the case of the DA, this is in contrast to recent by-election results in various regions after the May 2019 national elections, in which the party bled support.

In Wednesday’s by-elections, the DA retained Ward 2 in the Blue Crane municipality in the Eastern Cape, with 53.45% of the vote. In 2016, it got 59.09% of the vote.

At the by-election at the Msunduzi municipality, which includes the regional hub Pietermarizburg,

the DA held its ward and increased its support with two percentage points from 44.04% in 2016 to 46.94%.

DA spokesperson Solly Malatsi said the results and show their offer still resonates with many South Africans. The next by-elections will take place next week.

Meanwhile, it was a bit of a mixed bag for the ANC, with its support remaining strong in the Eastern Cape, but seemingly waning in KwaZulu-Natal.

The party’s support remained around the 94% mark in the ward Ngqushwa in the Eastern Cape, and it showed a 20 percentage points increase in the by-election in Umzimvubu, also in the Eastern Cape, surging from 76.15% in 2016 to 96.61% on Wednesday.

At Umzumbe in KwaZulu-Natal, it dropped almost 30 percentage points, from 89.23% in 2016 to 60.74% on Wednesday.

In Mpofana, also in KwaZulu-Natal, the ANC lost 13 percentage points compared to 2016, dropping from 53.29% to 40.08%.

The drop in support was less marked in Kwadukuza, where the party dropped from 59.18% to 57.53%. – News24 wire