The DA sent tumbling from Bela-Bela by-elections

Spa Park municipal blue-collar worker and ANC activist Boetie Maname has wrestled back Bela-Bela’s hotly-contested Ward 9 from the DA by a whisker.

The ANC won 48% of the 1800 votes cast, with the DA at 45%.

If the results are somewhat a benchmark of things to come, the EFF at 5% has a mountain to climb in future elections, while Cope got 1% of the vote.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) facilitated a by-election in the ward following the resignation of DA Councillor and retired businessman, Kobus van der Merwe.

Conspiracy theories are already abound following Maname’s narrow triumph over the DA’s Eddie Aschendorf, with some suggesting the by-election could be an indication the Ramaphoria narrative might as well be rubbing off on lower structures of the ANC.

Mainstream media reports had this week gone lyrical about an Ipsos poll carried out in June, which suggested the ANC had 60% of national voter support.

The randomly selected sample of 3 000 South Africans survey was a far cry from the around 54% the ANC managed to scrape from the 2016 local government elections.

Significantly, in Limpopo ANC support reportedly rose to 70%, also up from the 2016 which was below 60%.

Maname (previously known as Boetie Pahl) was the candidate of choice for the ANC, with Aschendorf tasked with the uphill battle to retain Ward 9 for the DA.

The EFF put forth Andreas Mwambo of Vingerkraal as the party’s candidate.

Cope entered the campaign somewhat at a low key with Francinah Mapaila as the face of the party, and the only female candidate in the contest.

The election results started circulating in the early hours of Wednesday 18 July, with the ANC in Bela-Bela township announcing a Mandela 100th birthday celebration by loudhailer the same day.

The ANC election machinery had unleashed, among other heavyweights, Thoko Didiza, Rejoice Mabudafhasi and Thulasi Nxesi, to drum up support for Maname.

On the eve of the by-elections, the DA disclosed in a statement that the party had installed free Wi-Fi in Vingerkraal during an event at Renosterkloof Primary School on Monday 16 July.

The DA had also dispatched heavyweights such as Limpopo leader, Jacques Smalle, to help campaign for Aschendorf.

EFF Commander-in-Chief Julius Malema also reportedly made a whistle-stop in Bela-Bela as part of the broader campaign.

— The BEAT