Pretoria - The ANC in Tshwane’s victory in ward 105 in Metsweding zone with 55% of the votes in the by-election last Wednesday was testimony that the people rejected the DA in the metro.
This was a view of the ANC regional secretary George Matjila, who said people came out in huge numbers to register a “vote of no confidence against the DA”.
“If you look at the turnout it was more than the one in the 2021 municipal elections. It means our people are starting to realise they have made a mistake by not voting in numbers previously. The outcome was in fact a vote of no confidence against the DA,” he said.
He said the election result also showed that the party’s renewal programme was starting to bear fruit.
“We always speak more about the renewal of the organisation and we strongly believe this is a sign that the process is taking off.
“The confidence of the people is starting to grow,” he said.
He said the ANC in the ward would have to start from scratch in addressing service delivery backlogs because residents had not been receiving services.
“The fact is that the DA-led administration has damaged the city. The city is completely damaged. The roads are damaged; the parks are not maintained and grass is uncut everywhere. We are going to start from the beginning.”
But Gauteng DA leader Solly Msimanga said the party’s performance in ward 105 showed its support had grown after amassing almost 30% of the vote.
He said: “As the DA in Gauteng and the entire country gets ready for the 2024 elections almost a year from today, we make this promise to the people of Gauteng: the DA will be champions of solutions in all communities and we will work hard every day to earn your trust, support, and vote.”
The DA scored 29% of votes, constituting a 2% growth compared to the 2021 election, while the ANC’s 55% marked an improvement of 14% in terms of its support. The EFF, on the other hand won 12% of the votes.
The ANC victory meant it would retain its council seat.
Pretoria News