FF+ steals North West ward from the DA, as EFF creeps up on ANC in Mpumalanga

Shortly after their surprising gains in the May elections, the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) seems to be going from strength to strength as they have snagged yet another ward from the Democratic Alliance – this time in the North West province.

Daily Maverick reports that by-elections held in Stilfontein in the Matlosana municipality on Wednesday night gave the FF+ a win, and also their only elected ward councillor in South Africa.

According to the publication, the DA beat the FF+ by over 1,000 votes in the same area back in 2016.

The African National Congress (ANC) also nearly suffered the same fate on Wednesday night after by-elections in Ward 31 (Embalenhle Secunda) in Govan Mbeki, Mpumalanga saw them beat the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) by very slim margins.

According to Daily Maverick, the ANC went from garnering over 600 votes in the area in 2016 to only 82 votes in 2019 after Wednesday’s vote.

Though they did not win the area, the EFF has enjoyed a significant and steady growth in their supporter base in the ward and surrounding areas.

The publication has identified over 35 by-elections coming up in the next month, with 9 out of 12 of the most hotly-contested wards currently belonging to the DA.

The next set of by-elections will take place in a ward in George in the Western Cape which looks set to be won by a DA-turned-GOOD ward councillor who defected to Patricia De Lille’s political party at the height of the internal turmoil of the party.

(Compiled by Kaunda Selisho)

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