DA wins Cape Town: IEC

2011-05-21 14:36

Johannesburg - The DA has obtained an outright majority in a number of Western Cape municipalities, including the City of Cape Town.

This is according to results released on Saturday by the Independent Electoral Commission in the Western Cape.

The party secured 135 seats in Cape Town, followed by the ANC with 73, said electoral officer Courtney Sampson in a statement.

The African Christian Democratic Party and the Congress of the People obtained three seats each.

The Democratic Alliance retained 61.09% of the vote in the city while the ANC stood at 33.03%.

These were the "final provisional results" for the 2011 municipal elections but has to be confirmed by its national results centre, said Sampson.

The DA told Sapa on Saturday that it had taken Cape Town following a recount.

Investigation

This after an IEC official in Khayelitsha failed to hand in result slips in the voting district.

It was "a case of gross negligence", said Sampson.

Investigations were underway.

Provincially, the DA took 440 seats, while the ANC had 283.

This was followed by the COPE with eight seats and the ACPD with seven.

Voter turnout for the city of Cape Town stood at 64.66% up from 49.81% in 2006.

For the province, there was a 64.37% voter turnout, up from 51.79% in 2006.

"The dynamic increase in number of registered voters who cast their votes is an indication of the work rate of political parties and the intense media coverage across all sectors," said Sampson.

SABC News reported that DA leader Helen Zille received a warm welcome when she arrived at the Cape Town International Airport on Saturday.

Supporters gathered to celebrate their early election victory.

- SAPA