Ballot battle in Thabazimbi: Voters flock to decide on municipality’s future

Scores of residents cast their ballots in the by-elections on Wednesday, as 21 political parties and five independent candidates battled it out for control of Thabazimbi local municipality in Limpopo.

Electoral Commission (IEC) provincial electoral officer Nkaro Mateta said more than 51,000 people were registered for Wednesday’s elections. She said the electorate had visited the town’s 57 voting stations to cast their ballots.

“On Tuesday, during special votes, we received nearly half of those who registered. We believe by 9pm, when we close the stations, a lot [of people] would have visited the polling stations,” said Mateta.

The population of Thabazimbi is approximately 64 993, with 51 399 registered voters. Over 20 000 females and close to 30 000 males are registered to vote. More than 1 300 new voters aged 18-19 who did not participate in the 2024 general elections were also among the registered voters.

Among the popular political organisations participating in the elections are the ANC, the Economic Freedom Fighters, the Freedom Front Plus, the Thabazimbi Resident Association, the Bolsheviks political party of South Africa, the Democratic Alliance, and the Umkhonto weSizwe party of former president Jacob Zuma.

By-elections follow council chaos in Thabazimbi

The by-elections in Thabazimbi come after the dissolution of the entire local municipality in August 2024. This effectively rendered all wards and proportional representation seats vacant. This was after the municipality failed to meet expectations, calling for the provincial government to invoke Section 139 (1) (c). Since 2021, councillors fought over the control of the municipality’s bank account.

The council had two parallel structures, including two mayors, two municipal managers, two chief whips, two council speakers, and two chief financial officers.

The Thabazimbi municipal council consists of 12 wards and 57 voting districts. There are 24 municipal seats, of which 12 are ward seats and 12 are proportional representation (PR) seats.

Mateta said all the voting stations had been open from 7am and were expected to close at 9pm.

She said counting would begin immediately after the voting process, and regular updates on the outcome would be provided.

ANC predicts by-election victory

The ANC said it would win the by-elections with an outright majority.

“We have worked the ground, fielded tried and tested cadres to contest the elections in all wards. We believe when counting completes today, the name of the ANC will come supreme,” ANC provincial spokesperson Mathole Jimmy Machaka told The Citizen.

The second biggest political party in the province, the EFF, was not available for comment.

Seun Mogotji, the general secretary of the Bolsheviks party, confirmed the race was tough.

“It is not going to be a walk in the park for any party here. Neither the ANC, the DA or Umkhonto weSizwe will claim an easy victory. But if the people of Thabazimbi do not want to be made into fools again, they must just vote for the Bolsheviks. The party is the home of service delivery,” said Mogotji.

On Sunday, President Cyril Ramaphosa told thousands at Regorogile Township that the ANC deserved to claim back power at Thabazimbi because its people deserved better.

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