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- The ANC managed to retain a ward in Nyanga, Cape Town, during a by-election held on Wednesday.
- The party secured 63% of votes, and it saw a slight decline in support compared to last year's local government elections.
- Meanwhile, the DA narrowly retained a ward in Drakenstein with 797 of the votes against the 661 votes for the FF+.
The ANC and DA managed to retain their wards in two by-elections in the Western Cape on Wednesday.
The ANC got 63% of the votes in ward 38 in Nyanga, Cape Town.
This was a decline in support compared to last year's local government elections, when the party received 74%.
The ward became vacant after veteran politician and ward 38 councillor Thembisile Gladstone Ntamo died in hospital in August.
ANC Western Cape spokesperson Sifiso Mtsweni said the results in Nyanga were an indication that people on the ground were feeling the impact of the party's programme on the renewal, unity and rebuilding of the ANC in the province.
"Since the local government elections in 2021, we have shown slow but steady improvement in the by-elections contested. We are laying a solid organisational foundation for the 2024 and 2026 elections," he said.
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Mtsweni said an election victory must be based on strong and active ANC branches that are consistently focused on bread-and-butter issues facing residents, "including the fight against poverty, unemployment, inequality, gender-based violence and femicide as well as crime".
"Our members are beginning to pull together in unity. We take this opportunity to congratulate the newly elected ward 38 councillor, comrade Suzanne Zumana," he said.
The GOOD party and the DA also contested the ward. The support base for the two parties saw a slight increase compared to last year's municipal elections.
The GOOD party's percentage of the vote jumped from 5% to 17% in this by-election.
GOOD's general-secretary Brett Herron said this showed voters were turning to GOOD to make a real difference in their community.
"This outcome is also proof that GOOD continues to grow ahead of the 2024 general election when we expect our support to increase across South Africa," he said.
The DA's votes jumped from 3% in last year's municipal elections to 13% in the by-elections.
The party's provincial leader Tertius Simmers said they were elated by the results.
"This is a tremendous achievement and yet another reflection of the confidence that voters have in a party that gets things done," he said.
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Meanwhile, the DA managed a narrow win in the ward 17 by-election in Drakenstein, in the Cape Winelands, on Wednesday. The DA obtained 797 of the votes against the 661 votes for the Freedom Front Plus.
The ward became vacant after the DA's councillor resigned.
Simmers said voters again showed faith in the party and its candidate, Lorraine Cyster, and managed to successfully retain ward 17.
"The DA remains sturdy in the Western Cape, and our track record of good service delivery in the province continues to resonate with all residents. We are confident that Lorraine will ensure that services are delivered in ward 17 and that she will work hard to take the ward to new heights," he said.
