Lindelani township remains an Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) ward following the KwaDukuza municipal by-election held yesterday (Wednesday).
Ward 5 (Lindelani) will now be represented by IFP councilor Enoy Elphas Dlamini, who won with 983 votes, leaving a gap of 82 votes between him and Nkanyiso Tembe of the African National Congress (ANC).
Ward 5 has 4 800 registered voters but only 2 570 people voted and 23 of those votes were counted as spoilt votes. The ANC won both of the by-elections held in ward 7 and 5 in Maphumulo.
Of the 1 722 people who voted in ward 7, 892 voted for Thokozani Christopher Mathibela (ANC) and of the 2 416 people who voted in ward 5, Sibusiso Zulu (ANC) took 1 139 votes.
In this year’s by-election, there were 14 115 people registered to vote, however only 6 708 people cast their ballot. Out of the number of people who voted, there were 80 spoilt votes.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) regional supervisor, Paul Daniel said the turnout was better than expected for by-elections.
“We are happy with the 53.5% and with the announcement of the local government election date, our focus will be on the one registration weekend scheduled for July 17-18.
“We encourage everyone to register,” said Daniel. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced last night that the 2021 local elections will take place on Wednesday, October 27.
