ANC drops the ball during elections
The Mpumalanga ANC will for the first time in the history of democracy have to go into a coalition with other political organisations to govern in three local municipalities.
MBOMBELA – The ANC failed to secure a solid victory in Steve Tshwete, Govan Mbeki and Lekwa local municipalities during the 2021 local government elections.
The ANC has always performed above 51% during local government elections and above 80% during the national and provincial elections. In the hotly contested Steve Tshwete Municipality, the ANC attained 36%, giving it 21 council seats. The DA managed to win 17 seats and the EFF nine.
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The Middelburg and Hendrina Residents won seven seats, the FF Plus scooped three and an independent received one. In Lekwa Local Municipality in Standerton, the ANC only attained 42% of the vote, giving it 13 council seats.
The new kids on the block, the Lekwa Community Forum (LCF), got 19% and the DA was in third place with 13%.
This means that the LCF has won six council seats, the DA four, and the EFF and FF Plus three each. In Govan Mbeki Local Municipality in Secunda, the ANC attained 38.6% of the votes.
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The ANC’s acting provincial secretary, Lindiwe Ntshalintshali, said they were still locked in meetings about a way forward on coalition arrangements. “There’s engagements at high levels with various coalition task teams, but there’s nothing concrete as yet. We will definitely brief you once we have something tangible to communicate,” she said.
