By-elections see DA, ANC victories
2010-12-09 14:14
Johannesburg - The DA has won two out of three seats contested in by-elections in three wards on Wednesday, according to Independent Electoral Commission results released on Thursday.
In Ward 19 of the City of Cape Town the party's Cynthia Claasen, won 3 905 of the 5 235 votes cast.
The ANC's Monwabisi Gwebityala followed with 765, independent candidate Frank Martin with 450, the African Christian Democratic Party's Hamish George won 60, Angelo du Toit of the Khoisan Party got 19, as did Beverley Jacobs of the SA Progressive Civic Organisation.
The Pan Africanist Congress of Azania's Bonita Hufkie got 13, and the United Democratic Movement's Fiouna van Boom four.
In a ward contested in Mpumalganga's Govan Mbeki municipality, the DA's Timothy Denny got 1 041 votes, the ANC's Mzunzima Bambata 65 and the Vryheidsfront Plus's John Stringer 20.
The ANC's candidate in Ward 4 in the City of Cape Town, Lubabalo Makeleni got 1 959 votes, ANC breakaway the Congress of the People's Thandiswa Feni got 373, the UDM's Sipelo Mhlangatshoba 95 and the PAC's Naiwaal Ismail 17.
The DA did not have a candidate for the ward. The area includes Table View, Century City and Joe Slovo Park.
DA majority increased
The DA said that while the Ward 19, Delft-Kuilsriver in Cape Town and Ward 5, Secunda, Mpumalanga victories were previously DA seats, the majorities had increased.
"Ahead of next year's local government elections, the message is clear: where the DA is in office, it increasingly wins public confidence," a statement said.
In the Cape Town ward the party won, it polled 74.65%, up from 36.82% in 2006. The ANC dropped from 32.99% to 14.63%.
In 2006 the Independent Democrats, who have joined forces with the DA, polled 21.17% in ward 19. Now the DA and ID jointly polled 57.9%.
The DA interpreted this as "a sign of faith in the DA-ID merger".
In the Govan Mbeki Ward 5 by-election the DA polled 92.45%, a 35% increase from the 2006 result of 57.05%.
The ANC polled 6.48%, down from 27.25% in 2006.
- SAPA
