The African National Congress (ANC) has welcomed the outcome of the municipal by-elections held on 9 December this week after securing an overwhelming win of 71% of the 24 wards contested.
“The ANC is humbled by this great show of confidence by the voters in our movement and doesn’t take this for granted,” said ANC’s head of elections, Fikile Mbalula.
“These outcomes are also a positive building block towards a decisive victory in the upcoming local government elections in 2021 as well as an important tool in measuring the resonance of our message with the electorate and our commitment in accelerating service delivery and improving the lives of our people.”
The ANC retained 12 wards nationally, won two wards from the DA in Oudtshoorn in the Western Cape, lost one ward in Overstrand in the Western Cape and won three wards from Better Residents Association in Mpumalanga.
Meanwhile, a case of alleged electoral fraud has been opened with the South African Police Services in the Nkomazi Municipality in Mpumalanga following an incident during the municipal ward by-elections held on Wednesday, according to the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC).
The IEC confirmed that a case was opened after a party agent raised the alarm, claiming two voters had been allowed to vote in the ward 15 by-election despite not being on the relevant segment of the voters’ roll and not residing in the ward.
Immediately after receiving the complaint, the Electoral Commission’s representative opened a case with the SAPS and three election officials were immediately relieved of their duties.
(SOURCE: INSIDE POLITICS)
