Spotlight on Tafelsig
2006-06-06 14:08
Cape Town - All eyes turn to Tafelsig in Cape Town on Wednesday, for a by-election occasioned by Independent Democrat ward councillor, Sheval Arendse, resigning and joining the Democratic Alliance.
On Tuesday, the IEC's provincial electoral officer, Courtney Sampson, said the by-election was the first after the March local government elections, "although we have filled over 40 vacancies" in councils across the province from the proportional representation (PR) lists.
Sampson said there were six voting stations in Tafelsig, which is part of Mitchells Plain, one for each of the voting districts.
Voting stations operate from 07:00 to 21:00, with provisional results expected to be announced close to midnight.
Sampson said the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) was not investigating a pamphlet distributed in Tafelsig, alleging that DA leader Tony Leon was a "Zionist oppressor".
Implications for Helen Zille
"I haven't seen the pamphlet and it hasn't been brought to my attention," Sampson said.
Leon laid charges of crimen injuria at the Cape Town police station on Monday after coming across the pamphlet.
Sampson said just over 13 700 people were registered as voters in the area, which had a below average turnout of 43.63% at the recent local government poll.
The top two, out of seven, contestants, seem to be the DA's Arendse and June Frans of the ID, who also has the backing of the ANC in the absence of their own candidate.
Besides an independent candidate, Philip Windvogel, fringe candidates from a number of unknown parties, such as the Pension Poverty Relief and Unemployment Front, were also contesting.
A recurring theme in trying to win the hearts of voters has been water and electricity cut-offs in the area.
The ID's Simon Grindrod said residents of Tafelsig will not allow a repeat of the large-scale water disconnections and evictions which the DA inflicted on Mitchells Plain in 2001.
"The memories of DA rule in the city in 2001 are very fresh in the minds of those who experienced the chaos of evictions at that time," Grindrod said in a media statement.
Wednesday's result has a direct bearing on Cape Town mayor Helen Zille's under-fire coalition government.
A DA victory and the extra seat it carries will boost its multi-party coalition.
According to data from Statistics SA's 2001 census, Tafelsig was a predominantly coloured working class area.
Education levels were low, with the vast majority (13 135) having "some secondary" education and only 3 163 achieving matric out of a total population of 47 540 five years ago.
So-called "elementary occupations" were the major occupation listed among employed individuals aged 15 to 65, with the average income for the area hovering at R1 764.
- SAPA