The results are pouring in from the by-elections held on Wednesday – we’ve got all the winners and losers here, including an upset in Nkandla.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is set to release the full official results from this week’s by-elections at midday on Thursday. Although the data is still pouring in, it seems we have one considerable upset on the cards. Nkandla – the site of Jacob Zuma’s sprawling homestead – has now turned its back on the ANC.
LATEST BY-ELECTIONS RESULTS
Local residents have instead decided to give their backing to the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP). They have won 61% of the vote here, in comparison to the 39% gained by the ANC. A near 30-point swing has won it for the outsiders – although the IFP has controlled Nkandla in previous years.
NKANDLA LEAVES ANC CONTROL
The new council in Nkandla is now made up of a majority of IFP representatives. No other party apart from the ANC was elected to serve in this region of KwaZulu-Natal. Significant gains in eThekwini and Umlazi – as well as holding vital regions elsewhere in the province – made these by-elections a successful exercise for the IFP.
BY-ELECTIONS SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY 12 NOVEMBER
We may not have reached the end of the road in terms of voting, but our key takeaways from the by-elections include:
- The ANC is on course to win 12 out of 14 available wards in Gauteng. They lost one ward to the DA in Eastern Cape.
- The DA hasn’t had a great time, though. They lost a total of four wards in Gauteng to the ANC, Al-Jamaah, and Patriotic Alliance.
- The Blues lost a ward to the Good Party in the Western Cape, and two switched to the FF Plus in North West.
- The EFF has seen its support grow in several wards across the country – but has failed to win a single seat so far.
- You can count the ANC, the IFP, and the FF Plus as the night’s big winners. The DA look set for the wooden spoon.
- No Nkandla, no problem from the ANC…
