Western Cape faces hung councils - ANC

2011-05-19 11:46

Cape Town - Western Cape ANC leader Marius Fransman said on Thursday morning that the province's rural areas were heading for a "a lot of hung councils" and it was still anybody's guess who had won the Cape Town metro.

"In the rural areas we won some and we lost some. There will be a lot of hung councils," he said, listing Oudtshoorn, Swellendam and Worcester among these. "The metro, we don't know," Fransman said.

Democratic Alliance MPs David Maynier and James Selfe said their party was drawing hope that it could clinch the metro from high turnout figures.

Turnout

"In some areas the turnout was approaching figures in the national elections", which traditionally draws far greater numbers than local polls, Maynier said.

Selfe said the turnout in DA strongholds in the southern suburbs, the city bowl and a large swathe of the Cape Flats shot over 70% in some wards.

"All depends on what the turnout was in those areas that are the opposite of DA strongholds," he said.

Selfe said ANC mayoral candidate for Cape Town Tony Ehrenreich had fought a "very concerted campaign", but DA information on voting on the Cape Flats showed that he had failed to win over coloured voters.

IEC spokesperson Trevor Davids said it hoped to have provisional results for all parts of the province by early evening.

"The metro is still largely outstanding. We are really pushing for the end of this day and hope to have a provisional result for the province," he said.

- SAPA