ANC slipping in by-elections - survey
2013-02-05 15:52
Johannesburg - ANC losses to independent or opposition
parties in by-elections is a sign of people using democracy to bring about
change, the SA Institute of Race Relations said on Tuesday.
"The local level is where voters are able to hold their
representatives directly accountable," said researcher Georgina Alexander.
Using data from the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC),
the institution said the ANC suffered a net loss of six wards while the
National Freedom Party (NFP) lost one.
"The Democratic Alliance achieved a net gain of three
wards and Congress of the People (Cope) a net gain of one. The DA managed to
win five wards from the ANC while the ANC won two from the DA."
The institute calculated the parties' net loss or gain by
subtracting the number of wards lost from the number of wards won during the
said period.
Retained wards were not taken into account when calculating
the net losses or gains.
Between May 2011 and November 2012, 122 by-elections were
held among the 4 277 wards.
Independent candidates gained two wards since the 2011 local
election, one being a ward in Rustenburg, Marikana, where the ANC lost to an
independent candidate.
"The other ward won by an independent candidate was in
the Northern Cape, where an ANC councillor resigned [from the ANC] and was
re-elected as an independent candidate," said Alexander.
- SAPA
