Picture Henk Kruger/ANA
THE ANC won 19 out of a total of 20 wards that were contested in by-elections in the Northern Cape, while the DA secured one ward in Renosterberg.
By-elections were held in Phokwane, Hantam, Khâi-Ma, Ubuntu, Renosterberg, Kai !Garib, Tsantsabane and Dawid Kruiper municipalities on Wednesday.
Vacancies were created following the death of councillors at Hantam, Khâi-Ma, Ubuntu and Tsantsabane municipalities, while one councillor resigned from Dawid Kruiper Municipality.
By-elections were held in all wards at Phokwane and Renosterberg municipalities as the councils were dissolved and placed under administration.
At Renosterberg Municipality, the ANC won four seats in council while the DA will have two seats and the EFF one seat.
At Phokwane Municipality, the EFF is the official opposition with five seats. The ANC won 10 seats and the DA two seats, while one seat each was allocated to the African Independent Congress and the FF+.
Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) provincial manager Elkin Topkin was satisfied with the voter turnout in the Northern Cape, which was recorded as 49.31 percent.
“The voter turnout reflected the legitimacy and representation of local government,” said Topkin yesterday.
“It is interesting to note that while the ANC won the majority of the wards in Renosterberg and Phokwane municipalities, the proportional representatives are a mixture of political parties, including the ANC, DA, EFF, FF+ the African Independent Congress and Azapo.”
Topkin added that voting processes went smoothly without any disruptions or hiccups.
“Special attention was paid towards implementing Covid-19 regulations and ensuring that measures were put in place to prevent the spread of the pandemic. We are happy with how the by-elections progressed since this was the first round of by-elections that took place after the hard lockdown. Despite maintaining social distancing, there were never more than 15 voters waiting in a queue. ”
Topkin stated that the counting was finalised sooner than anticipated.
“Counting was completed at around 11.30pm on Wednesday in Upington, while votes at Phokwane Municipality were counted by 4-5am on Thursday morning. Counting at Renosterberg Municipality was finished much sooner than expected.”