ANC wins 10 out of 11 by-elections
2010-11-11 14:21
Durban - The ANC won 10 of the 11 by-elections held throughout the country on Wednesday, according to results posted on the Independent Electoral Commission’s website on Thursday morning.
Six by-elections were held in Mpumalanga, two in KwaZulu-Natal, one in the Eastern Cape, one in Free State and one in the Western Cape.
The DA won the Western Cape by-election.
Three of the six by-elections in Mpumalanga were uncontested. The election in Ward 12 in Ermelo, which was previously controlled by the ruling party, was held after the death of the councillor.
The other three wards were contested by the ANC and Pan Africanist Congress of Azania.
ANC pleased with results
Sihle Zikalala, ANC secretary in KwaZulu-Natal said his party was pleased with the results of the two by-elections in uKhahlamba and KwaMbonambi. "The ANC won a previously Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) controlled ward 08 in KwaMbonambi with big margins and victoriously retained ward 10 in uKhahlamba," said Zikalala.
He said the win showed that his party would do well during the upcoming local government elections.
"We once again reiterate that it is now clear, that it is high time for the IFP to close shop, as it has became totally irrelevant to the life of the people of this province," he said.
Jonathan Moakes, the DA’s CEO said the results of the by-election in the Western Cape showed that the electorate was rejecting the ANC.
"Ahead of next year’s local government elections, the message is clear: where the DA governs, it delivers better services than the ANC, for all of the people; and so, increasingly, people are turning to the DA and rejecting the ANC," he said.
- SAPA
