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ANC, DA sweep wards in Eastern Cape, Nelson Mandela Bay, but both get a big PA scare in Kou-Kamma

ANC, DA sweep wards in Eastern Cape, Nelson Mandela Bay, but both get a big PA scare in Kou-Kamma
Wayne Sussman
By Wayne Sussman
15 Aug 2024
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The ANC and the DA retained all the wards they were defending in the latest round of by-elections. The ANC was untouchable in the three rural strongholds it was defending while the DA put down a serious suburban marker in Nelson Mandela Bay.

The most competitive by-election was always going to be in Kou-Kamma in the western part of the Eastern Cape. The Patriotic Alliance (PA) made giant strides to finish second here as it hurt the DA, and also made an incision into the ANC’s support base. 

Sarah Baartman District


Ward 1 (Misgund Krakeelrivier) Kou-Kamma: ANC 46% (53%): PA 33% (5%) DA 21% (38%)


The setting: Kou-Kamma is a beautiful part of the country which is surrounded by the Tsitsikamma mountains, the Langkloof. This area is known for its farming. Misgund is the most populous village in this ward. It is close to the Western Cape border on the R62 regional road. Other settlements are Krakeel River and Louterwater. The vast Sarah Baartman District is on the western side of the Eastern Cape. It includes the towns of Graaff-Reinet and Jeffreys Bay. 

The 2021 local government elections: The ANC beat the DA by 270 votes. The ANC won the ward with handsome returns in Misgund where the margin was 265. The DA edged the ANC in Krakeelrivier while the ANC beat the DA in a photo finish in Louterwater. 

The ANC won six of the 11 seats in the municipality, while the DA lost ground. The latter fell to three seats, hurt by the Freedom Front Plus and the PA which gained one seat each. 

The 2024 local provincial elections: The ANC won 39% of the vote here in the recent elections. Both the ANC and the DA were hurt by the PA. The DA came second with 30% while the PA received an impressive 25% of the vote to finish third in a ward in which traditionally only the ANC and the DA have been strong. 

The by-election: The ward councillor died. The ANC, DA and PA threw their names in the hat.

The ANC held onto this seat by beating the PA by more than 300 votes. The ANC beat the PA by 53 votes in the most populous village in the ward Misgund. The ANC’s percentage vote share fell here from 59% to 49% while the PA surged from 6% to 44%. The DA’s support plummeted from 27% to 9%. Krakeelrivier was key for the ANC. It wrested this voting district from the DA, getting 49%, just up from 48% in 2021. The DA declined from 49% to 40%, while the PA went from 1% to 11%. The PA will be satisfied with this growth but will also know that if it closed the gap in Krakeelrivier it could have had a shock win in the ward. The ANC garnered 385 more votes than the PA in Krakeelrivier.

The PA won 80% of the vote in Louterwater, after only getting 9% in 2021. It is an astonishing rise. The party beat the ANC by 137 votes as the latter fell from 41% to 8%. The DA finished second but also lost ground, moving from 33% to 12%. 

The win for the ANC means it retains outright control of Kou-Kamma. The PA sent a warning to the ANC, and especially the DA, that it is destined to make big inroads in the Sarah Baartman District in 2026. The DA will be disappointed with its third-place finish and will want to have another look at the Blue Crane Route by-election just before the 2024 polls, where it beat the ANC. 

Poll: (52%)

Ward 2 (Summerstrand Humewood) Nelson Mandela Bay: DA 97% (86%) ACDP 1% (3%) ANC 1% (4%) EFF <1% (2%)

The setting: This ward includes many of Gqeberha’s most famous beaches including King’s Beach, Pollok Beach and Hobie Beach. It also includes the Humewood Golf Course. 

The 2021 local government election: The DA won here by a landslide, although it would have wanted turnout to be higher. 

The 2024 provincial election: The DA won 70% of the vote, with the EFF beating the ANC for second place with 11%. The ANC was third with 7% and the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) fourth with a tepid 2%. 

The EFF beat the ANC in all three voting districts. 

The by-election: The former ward councillor was elected to Parliament. The DA won more than 95% of the vote in all three voting districts, getting 98% in two of the three districts. The EFF was unable to match its second place in the recent provincial election. The ACDP pipped the ANC for second place by two votes but will be disappointed with its showing. 

Poll: 23% (49%)

Ward 9 (Linton Grange Framesby) Nelson Mandela Bay: DA 92% (86%) ACDP 5% (3%) ANC 3% (3%) ARA 0%


The setting: Ward 9 is a suburban ward west of the Gqeberha city centre. It includes Hoërskool Framesby, which has produced two Springboks – Joggie Viljoen and Elandré van der Bergh. The ward straddles the N2 national road which links the city with Plettenberg Bay. 

The 2021 local government elections: The DA won by a landslide in 2021. It is a traditional DA stronghold. 

The 2024 provincial election: The DA won 81% of the vote, followed by the ANC (6%) and the EFF (3%). The Patriotic Alliance (PA) took some DA votes in this ward as it ended on 3%.

The by-election: The poll is taking place because the ward councillor won a seat in the provincial legislature. The Western Cape-based African Restoration Alliance (ARA) chanced its arm here. 

The DA won more than 88% of the vote in all three voting districts. Its best return was at Sunridge Primary School in Sunridge Park where it won 97% of the vote. The ACDP came second in the by-election. Neither it nor the ANC were able to get into double percentage figures in any of the voting districts. The ARA received zero votes. This means the candidate did not even vote for himself. 

Poll: 24% (60%)

Amathole District


Ward 18 (Nqamakwe eThunga) Mnquma: ANC 95% (80%) UDM 3% (5%) MK 1% PAC < 1% (1%)


The setting: Ward 18 is a rural ward northwest of Gcuwa (formerly Butterworth). The ward comprises numerous villages and rural settlements. Gcuwa is the seat of power in Mnquma. Mnquma forms part of the ANC firewall district of Amathole. Other towns in the district are Dutywa, Peddie and Alice.

The 2021 local government elections: The ANC swept the ward, winning four of every five votes. The United Democratic Movement (UDM) finished second, slightly ahead of the EFF (3%). 

The ANC won 45 of the 63 seats in Mnquma in 2021. The EFF and the UDM tied for second on five, as the ANC lost some ground to the EFF. A host of other parties obtained one or two seats. The PAC was the fourth-most popular party with two seats. 

The 2024 provincial elections: The ANC won 78% of the vote, the EFF pipped the UDM for second place with 8% while the UDM garnered 7%. The Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) and the uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party both received less than 1%. 

The by-election: Ward councillor Lunga Dyantyi was murdered when he was shot outside his home just before the national elections. MK was an interesting entrant in this by-election. 

The ANC won more than 90% of the vote in nine of the 10 voting districts. This included 100% at Vukukhanye School. The UDM, MK and PAC barely made a dent here as the ANC cruised to an emphatic win. 

Poll: 40% (49%)

Chris Hani District


Ward 12 (Lower Qitsi KuQwebeqwebe) Intsika Yethu: ANC 85% (82%) EFF 6% (10%) ACT 6% UDM 3% (2%)


The setting: Ward 12 is a rural ward, off the R61 regional road which links Cofimvaba with eNgcobo. It comprises a number of villages near the Lower Qitsi River. Intsika Yethu is an ANC stronghold. Its principal towns are Cofimvaba and Tsomo. It forms part of the Chris Hani District which includes the towns of Komani, eNgcobo and Xuba (formerly Cradock). 

The 2021 local government elections: The ANC cantered home with more than 80% of the vote. The EFF was the only other party to receive decent support in the ward. 

The ANC won 35 of the 42 seats in the local government elections, and lost no seats. The EFF grew from three to four seats while the UDM fell from two to one. The DA and PAC also won a single seat.

The 2024 provincial elections: The ANC won 84% of the vote, with the EFF getting 8% and the UDM 4%. It was one-way traffic in Ward 12. 

The by-election: The ward councillor died. Ace Magashule’s African Congress for Transformation (ACT) wanted to test these tough ANC waters. 

The ANC swept all six voting districts for a landslide win, taking more than 90% of the vote in two districts. The EFF pipped the ACT for second place. The EFF obtained more than 25% of the vote in one of the districts, while the ACT got 25% in one district. It was not able to get into double percentage figures in any of the other districts. The ANC continues to be the overwhelmingly favoured party in this part of the country. 

Poll: 38% (36%)

Limpopo


Vhembe District

Ward 35 (Tshituni Matsa) Makhado: ANC 83% (83%) Ind-Mashudu 8% IRC 5% (5%) Ind-Ntakandzeni Phathela 4%


The setting: Ward 35 is a rural ward northwest of the town of Louis Trichardt, which is the seat of Makhado. It is off the R523 road which takes you to the Tshirovha Falls and ultimately to Thohoyandou. The most populous villages in the ward are Tshituni and Matsa.

Makhado is anchored by the magnificent Soutpansberg mountains. It is one of the last big towns in the north before you hit the Beitbridge border post. It is the home municipality of artist Jackson Hlungwani and singer Sho Madjozi.

The 2021 local government elections: The ANC won more than 80% of the vote for an easy win in this ANC heartland. The EFF pipped the regional International Revelation Congress (IRC) to second place with 5%. 

The ANC bossed it here in 2021, growing from 56 seats to 62 in the 75-seat council. Both the DA and the EFF lost seats to the ANC, with the DA falling from nine to five and the EFF from seven to four. There was a raft of parties with single seats after this. 

The 2024 provincial elections: The ANC won more than 90% of the vote in the ward in a dominant performance, growing from 90% to 92%. The EFF slipped a bit to finish second with 4% after winning 5% in 2019. 

The by-election: The ward councillor died. The EFF sat out this by-election, with the IRC hoping to finish runner-up. Faith Ntakadzeni Phathela ran as an independent candidate on the regional Limpopo ballot. She won 273 out of 1,415,116 valid votes in Limpopo. 

The ANC matched its 2021 percentage in this ward. The party could not match the percentage figure from the recent 2024 provincial election but that might have been because of Mbawala Mashudu, the independent candidate who finished second in this ward.

Read more: Huge gains for EFF as ANC loses ground in Clocolan by-election

Read more: IFP deals bitter setback for Team Sugar, MK in KZN, ANC cleans up in Eastern Cape, North West wards

The ANC won more than 87% of the vote in four of the six voting districts. It obtained 92% at Luatame Secondary School in Tshituni. Makhado remains a firewall for the ANC. 

Mashudu won 41% at Tshabvuma Primary School in Pfumbada, the only district in which he won more than 10% of the vote. Each of the other candidates also was only able to pass 10% in one district. 

Poll: 34% (39%)

Upcoming by-elections


The next round of by-elections will be on 28 August, with 14 in Gauteng, the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, North West and the Free State. They include by-elections in Johannesburg, Tshwane, eThekwini and Cape Town. DM

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