ANC defeats MK party in KZN by-elections and flips DA ward in Northern Cape

The African National Congress (ANC) registered two significant by-election victories this week.

Ward by-elections were held in a Northern Cape area previously held by the Democratic Alliance, while the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party had its sights on a win in KwaZulu-Natal’s (KZN) capital on 18 December.

The ANC flipped the DA seat in the Hantam Municipality and held off the MK party in Msunduzi Municipality, with less than half of registered voters casting their ballots.

ANC victory in Northern Cape

Ward 7 in the Hantam Municipality, which covers Calvinia and the surrounding areas, was won by the DA in the 2021 municipal election.

In Wednesday’s by-election, the DA could only gather 33.45% of the vote, while the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) ate into their share with 20.86%.

As a result, the ANC’s 45.68% was enough to hand Gerrit Laban victory in the ward.

Northern Cape Premier Zamani Saul was thrilled with the victory, noting how it was third ward in three months that the party had been able to claw back.

“This is a ward that the ANC never won before. There is a remarkable moment of resurgence of the ANC in the Northern Cape,” the premier posted on social media.

MK party falls short in Msunduzi

The new recruits at the MK party were hopeful of signing off 2024 with a victory in KZN’s administrative heartland.

The ANC had secured a majority in Msunduzi’s ward 2 in the 2021 elections and repeated the feat on Wednesday, although the MK party was not far behind.

Jacob Zuma’s party did win two of the seven voting districts in the ward on its way to 1 164 votes, however, the ANC clinched the ward with 1 602 votes, making Mbongeni Zuma the new councillor.

MK party secretary general Floyd Shivambu claimed via a social media post that the party’s initial ward candidate was deregistered through an unauthorised letter, placing a spanner in their local campaign.

“We have acted against those who violated internal process. We will have maximum discipline and stability in the organisation. We know what we are up against,” stated Shivambu.