The ANC retained both seats contested in the penultimate round of by-elections for 2025. It did, however, lose significant ground in both wards, mainly to ActionSA in Etwatwa in Ekurhuleni and to the Patriotic Alliance in Villiersdorp in the Western Cape. The Ekurhuleni by-election was held in the metropolitan area where the ANC’s National General Council was taking place.
The Setting:Ward 109 is close to the provincial border with Mpumalanga. Etwatwa is east of Daveyton and above both the N12 national road which links Ekurhuleni with eMalahleni, and Eiselen Street, which connects Daveyton with Etwatwa. Winnie Mandela is in the southern part of Etwatwa.
Soccer player Junior Khanye and Writer Sicelo Ngubane hail from Etwatwa. The 2021 local government election:The ANC was dominant in Ward 109, sweeping all districts. The EFF was the only other party to get into double percentage figures.
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It was well ahead of the third-placed DA, which obtained 6%. ActionSA finished fourth. The ANC won more than 70% of the vote in two of the six voting districts: 74% in the Barcelona Primary School district and 71% in the WK Mpengesi Primary School district.
The EFF’s best returns were 18% each at the Quantum Secondary School district and the Christian Fellowship Family Church district. The DA did best in the Sazakhela Primary School district with 8%. ActionSA’s best percentage was 8%, at Quantum Secondary School.
The 2024 provincial elections:The ANC came first here with 56%. MK came second with 18%. The EFF was third with 13% and the DA fourth with 6%.
ActionSA declined here, mustering 2%. The ANC won every voting district, but was unable to breach 60%. It did best at the WJ Mpengesi School district and the Christian Fellowship Family Church district where it won 59%.
MK did best at the Sazakhela Primary School district with 21%. Its best district was the Christian Fellowship Family Church where it took 18%. The EFF did best in the Lekamoso Primary School district and the Quantum School district with 16% in both.
ActionSA’s 4% at WJ Mpengesi School was its best result. The by-election:The veteran councillor and former mayoral committee member resigned from council. The DA opted not to contest this by-election.
The relatively new All Citizens Party (ACP) was on the ballot. A win is a win, and the party will finish the term of this local government period leading Ward 109. However, it lost significant ground.
It lost a chunk of support in this ward to ActionSA and MK, and some to the EFF. The ANC won five of the six voting districts in the ward. Its support declined in every one.
It did best at the WJ Mpengesi School district where it won 46%, down from 71%. It did second-best at Barcelona Primary School with 44%, down 30% from 74% in 2021. ActionSA did very well in this ward, winning more than 1,000 votes.
It won more than 20% in every district, with its high point being 30% in the Christian Fellowship Family Church district. It finished second in four of the six districts. ActionSA won a ward in rural North West a few months ago, and made an impact on a recent by-election in Khutsong township in Gauteng, close to the North West border. This result shows that the party has great potential for growth in townships in the east of Gauteng as well.
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