Thabazimbi by-elections: ANC faces off against Zuma’s MK in key battle

Highly contested by-elections take place in Thabazimbi today, with more than 400 candidates vying for positions in the small rural iron-ore mining town in Limpopo.

It will be a battle between the ANC and Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe party that will be of interest because it would be a test of their strengths against each other.

MK’s fortunes could also be boosted by the fact that its secretary-general, Floyd Shivambu, is from Limpopo, where his previous party, the EFF, occupied the second spot after the ANC.

Shivambu from Limpopo

The ANC knew it had to take action and party president Cyril Ramaphosa arrived in the province on the eve of the by-elections.

MK dispatched its bigwigs to the area last week.

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The Thabazimbi by-elections got the ANC worried for two reasons – it is facing a strong contest from MK and the party lost its majority in the municipal council in 2016 and could not regain it in the 2021 local government elections.

Before the municipality was dissolved in September and replaced with an interim administrator in terms of Section 139 of the constitution, the ANC held 11 of the 24 seats.

MK top guns led by party deputy president John Hlophe and Shivambu spent time in Thabazimbi last week on a campaign trail that involved door-to-door visits and street meetings with voters.

Door-to-door by-election campaigning

It was not clear whether Zuma would go to the province at the last minute to counter Ramaphosa.

Political analyst Prof Dirk Kotzé from the University of South Africa’s department of political sciences, said the Thabazimbi polls were a clear barometer for the ANC, MK and the EFF support bases in Limpopo.

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“These by-elections are of high political significance because they are both a test for the ANC and MK, in particular, and to a certain extent also for the EFF. The MK party performed very poorly in the province while the ANC did the best at 37%.

“The question to be asked: is the MK party growing or not and for the ANC, as it is closely associated with the DA, can it still maintain its majority? It will also help us understand the extent of support for the EFF in Limpopo

“In that sense these by-elections in Thabazimbi are informative as they can be an indication of what support all these parties have in Limpopo,” Kotze said.

Support in Limpopo

Electoral Commission of South Africa deputy chief electoral officer Mawethu Mosery confirmed the municipality was dissolved by the provincial government in September with concurrence of the National Council of Provinces, later resulting in all seats becoming vacant.

The municipality has 24 seats – 12 ward seats and 12 proportional representation (PR) seats.

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The municipality is made up of 12 wards, with a total of 57 voting districts, where an intense voter registration drive was held in all of the wards.

The Thabazimbi polls are, in fact, a dry run for the 2026 local government elections for all political parties, big and small, that fielded an unprecedented number of candidates, with five running as independents.

While for other parties this is an opportunity to test their popularity towards 2026, the ANC has its focus on MK which, like the ANC, is contesting all the 12 wards.

ANC focus on MK

Ramaphosa rarely participates in local by-elections campaigning, but the MK seems to have become a serious threat to the ANC.

His participation also indicates a lot is at stake in the Thabazimbi polls.

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Due to the local polls in 2026, all the ward polls have become battlegrounds.

The polls are not only a mustwin for the ANC, but a test of its strength against the MK, as some billed it as a Ramaphosa versus Zuma battle.

Kotzé said the fact that a large number of parties were contesting the by-elections in all the 12 wards was significant.

Large parties contesting

“One can read more into this in terms of the significance of the polls to test the support base of the parties.

“But more importantly, it is barometer of where the ANC is – whether it is losing support or winning it since the May national and provincial elections,” Kotzé said.

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