By-elections untainted by political intolerance

The African National Congress (ANC) retained Ward Four after Ugan Chetty was declared winner of the by-elections held on Wednesday, March 26.
Voting stations, which included, the Forderville, Colita and town halls were open until 9pm where registered voters queued to cast their vote.
4 447 residents voted, which was 42.68 percent of the ward’s registered voters.
The ANC’s Ugan Chetty secured 53.51 percent of the votes; Loritha Bhugwandeen from the Democratic Alliance was in second place with 39.88 percent of votes.
Noluvuyo Hadebe from the Inkatha Freedom Party got 3.41 percent and Sookraj Mahabeer from the National Freedom Party secured 3.19 percent of the votes.
According to the Independent Electoral Commission’s Municipal Electoral Officer Vusimuzi Magubane, the by-elections progressed smoothly without any reports of political intolerance.
“Leaders of political parties managed to tell their members to refrain from declaring certain area ‘no-go areas’. The Code of Conduct committed the political parties to tolerance during the by-elections campaigns and prohibits them from inciting their members and the public, this resulted in no incidents that disturbed the election process,” commented Mr Magubane. “I thank the SAPS leadership and members for their tireless commitment to maintain peace and order during the Ward Four by-election,” he concluded.