Riyaz Patel
The African National Congress has clawed back two municipal wards from the DA following yesterday’s by-elections in Ekurhuleni and Rand West.
In Ward 29 in Ekurhuleni, the ANC’s Imtiaz Loonat garnered 1947 votes with the DA candidate Zaakira Ismail getting 1564 votes.
Regional ANC Chairperson and Ekurhuleni Mayor Mzwandile Masina said the victory in Ward 29 was a result of a strong and united regional ANC and a Metro that delivers basic services.
Abram Tholani Mazula (ANC) won Ward 21 in Rand West.
Last month, the ANC reclaimed Ward 109 from the DA in Johannesburg.
The ANC lost Ward 29 in 2016 when the DA’s Hasina Ismail upsetted sitting councillor Loonat in a shock outcome.
Ismail received 43.65 per cent of the vote (5 606 votes), while Loonat finished with 37.35 per cent (4 797 votes).
Ward 29 takes in the areas of Actonville, the Wattville Hostel and the Emandleni informal settlement.
The ward is particularly significant for the ANC as the area was home for late ANC president OR Tambo and his wife Adelaide after the unbanning of the ANC in 1990, and up until 2016, considered an ANC stronghold.
Tambo and his wife are also buried in Wattville.
The ANC in Gauteng said the strong showing is a sign of confidence of the people of Gauteng in the ANC and its “activist approach to governance.”
