Flip of a coin determines Modimolle-Mookgophong Muni fate

LIMPOPO – Marlene van Staden has been re-elected as Modimolle-Mookgophong Mayor during a council sitting at the Waterberg District Municipality Chambers.

Van Staden and Aaron Sebolai from the ANC each received 14 votes. Standard procedure dictates that a coin is flipped with the third ballot to then elect a mayor.

“A coin in the hands of God has determined my fate. Thank you to all councillors from the DA, FF+ and EFF who voted for me during the election process,” Van Staden said in a Facebook post.

Today’s council meeting was the fifth following the local government election on November 1, in which the ANC obtained 14 seats, the DA seven, the EFF four and the FF+ three seats. As a result, the municipality is a hung council as none of the parties managed to secure an outright majority.

The DA political head for the Waterberg district, Desiree van der Walt, said the ANC councillors were absent at the first council meeting on November 19. On November 22,  the election of a speaker was a tie and the meeting was then reconvened the following day where there would be a second vote.

“The ANC then claimed there was a spoilt ballot, despite the IEC confirming it was a valid ballot. The meeting was subsequently adjourned by the acting municipal manager.”

Van der Walt said the council met on November 29, where the ANC’s Sinah Langa was elected speaker. A flip of a coin could, however, not take place on Monday to determine who the mayor is, because the meeting was disrupted by a briefing by SALGA and the Limpopo Department of Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs.

The meeting was then adjourned to today and Van Staden was on the right side of the coin flip.

The position of chief whip was also determined by the flip of a coin after the ANC’s Maria Kekana and the FF+’s Marita Louw both received 14 votes.

Kekana was then elected chief whip.