THE Democratic Alliance (DA) held strong in local wards, with the majority of residents choosing to give the party their vote once again.
Ward 33 councillor Mmabatho Tembe, ward 27 councillor Martin Meyer and ward 31 councillor Chris Pappas, were thankful that the election went smoothly, although they all noted a decrease in the numbers of voters in their wards.
Responding to this, Councillor Meyer said: “There where hundreds of VEC10 forms at all voting stations, meaning a lot of people voted in our ward from outside, slightly skewing the result, making comparisons with previous years a tad tricky. These are however above board. There has been a sharp drop in the voter turn-out in the ward. This is very concerning, but in line with what happened nationally. We will have to honestly engage on why people just chose to stay away on election day.”
Meyer said in the overall stats for his ward, 57.46 per cent of voters making their mark on the national ballot, voted for the DA, whereas 29.16 per cent voted for the African National Congress (ANC). In the provincial ballot, 59.92 per cent voted for the DA, whereas 25.46 per cent voted for the ANC.
At Clarence Road Primary, in the national ballot, 42.98 voted for the ANC and 38.75 for the DA, whereas the DA was on top for the provincial ballot with 40.98 per cent compared to 39.1 per cent for the ANC.
The majority of voters voted for the DA at other stations, except at the Kings Park Athletic station, where 53.22 per cent went to the ANC on the national ballot and 22.67 per cent went to the DA, and on the provincial ballot, 53.2 per cent of the votes went to the ANC and 22.52 per cent went to the DA.
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In ward 31, residents voting at seven of the eight stations voted for the DA, however the ANC received 41 per cent of the votes compared to 39 per cent for the DA at the Springfield Model station.
The results were similar in ward 33, with the ANC taking 42.1 per cent of the votes compared to the DA’s 35.5 per cent in the national ballot at the Hunt Road Secondary station, whereas the DA took the lead with 39.4 per cent compared to 36.7 per cent for the ANC in the provincial ballot at the same station. Results at the seven other stations showed a lead for the DA.
Councillor Pappas and Meyer have both announced their election as members of the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Legislature.
“I have the privilege of serving the citizens of KwaZulu-Natal from a different platform for the next five years. Thank you to all those who put their trust in the DA and got me elected and thank you to all those who have played a part in my journey which started with student politics at The University of Pretoria. I look forward to the journey ahead,” Councillor Pappas said.
Commenting on the election, Councillor Meyer said it had been a great honour to have represent this ward since 2011.
“I can safely say that this has been the most challenging role I have ever had to fulfill, but one I enjoyed thoroughly. I want to thank every resident for the eight years we spent together. It has been my privilege to represent through the good times and tough times. I will continue to strive to represent residents in the provincial government with diligence and dedication,” he said.
The IEC will declare a vacancy and a by-election will be held to elect new ward 27 and 31 councillors. During the period until the by-election, councillors will be assigned to look after the wards and Meyer and Pappas will share the details of the councillors as soon as this has been decided.
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