ANC sweeps local elections
6 March 2006
The African National Congress (ANC) has strengthened its position in South African local government, polling 66.34% in last week's municipal elections - from just under 60% in the previous municipal poll in 2000.
This gives the ANC 5 718 of the 8 380 local government seats in South Africa's 284 municipalities.
The official opposition Democratic Alliance received 14.77% of votes cast, taking 1 107 local government seats, followed by the Inkatha Freedom Party with 8.05% and 738 seats.
DA takes Cape Town
The ANC suffered a setback in the Western Cape, however, losing its position of power in the Cape Town city council as well as suffering losses in some rural areas.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) took the most seats in Cape Town, with the final allocation announced by Independent Electoral commission (IEC) on Friday giving the DA 41.85% of the vote and 90 of the 210 seats on the city council, followed by the ANC with 37.91% and 81 seats.
Patricia de Lille's Independent Democrats hold the balance of power in the Mother City with 10.75% of the votes cast, translating into 23 seats, followed by the African Christian Democratic Party with 3.22% (seven seats) and the African Muslim Party with 1.33% (three seats).
ANC sweeps all nine provinces
Overall, however, the ANC still took most votes in the Western Cape, polling 40.25% to the DA's 39.33%, followed by the Independent Democrats with 10.68% and the African Christian Democratic Party with 2.72%.
KwaZulu-Natal was also closely contested. The ANC emerged victorious after a tight tussle with the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), winning 46.54% of the votes in the province to the IFP's 38.57%, with the DA trailing at 8.4%.
In the other seven provinces, however, the ANC were runaway winners, taking 81.74% of the vote in the Eastern Cape, 76.66% in the Free State, 62.37% in Gauteng, 83.99% in Limpopo, 80.6% in Mpumalanga, 69.95% in the Northern Cape and 76.57% in North West.
Voter turnout 49%
The IEC said on the weekend that it had recorded a 48.42% voter turnout - almost identical to the 48.07% recorded in the 2000 municipal elections.
Ninety-seven political parties contested the elections.
'99.9% violence-free'
Speaking at the National Results Centre in Pretoria last Thursday, IEC chairperson Brigalia Bam praised South Africa's political parties for upholding the electoral code of conduct, saying Wednesday's elections were generally peaceful with very few exceptions.
In general terms, she said, considering the scale of violence arising during elections, the polls "were 99.9% violence-free".
One of the few exceptions of violence, she noted, occurred in Umlazi in KwaZulu-Natal, where an Azanian People's Organisation (Azapo) candidate was shot and hospitalised on Wednesday night.
Commenting on strife-torn Khutsong township in Merafong municipality, where most residents boycotted the elections, Bam said the situation was "wonderful because no one died - we celebrate that. There was no use of rubber bullets and teargas.
"We heard that some people decided to play football [next to one voting station]," Bam added. "We are grateful that people resorted to entertaining themselves rather than committing violence."
Results for smaller parties
Percentage of the total vote received by smaller parties:
SouthAfrica.info reporter and BuaNews
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