The results of the municipal elections for Lekwa, began trickling in on Tuesday, November 2, maybe surprising friend or foe when Lekwa Community Forum garnered 19,43% of the votes to the ANC’s 42,03%.
The ANC did not obtain an absolute majority, which leaves the door wide open for coalition-forming.
The DA showed a percentage of 13,36 and the EFF 9,18.
The queue at Standerton Town Hall on Monday, November 1 epitomised the interest of voters from Ward 10. This DA-ward, which previously fell under the late Mr Rosier de Ville, was strongly contested and won by Ms Wilma Venter of the Freedom Front Plus.
The ACDP, ANC and Lekwa Community Forum (LCF) also had stalls on the lawn in front of the hall.
The Standerton Advertiser fell in line at 8:00 and had the opportunity to talk to a few locals, waiting to cast their ballots.
The question as to why a resident decided to vote, was answered with a sideways glance at the litter behind the fence.
“Look at it, that’s why I am here to vote,ֲ” Mr Theo Schönfeldt said.
His wife, Cuska, shared some of her background and mentioned a Standerton way back when the streets were clean, roads maintained and traffic lights in working order.
Mr Phillip Scheepers, a pharmacist, commented that he has been voting in every election since 1997. The newspaper tried to have a short interview with all the candidates available at the different stalls.
Mr Pat van der Westhuizen of the ACDP indicated that it was a relatively good turn-out.
The candidate for the DA, Mr Deon Bekker, made a quick calculation at 8:20 that at least 87 voters have cast their ballots.
“People were already lining up at 6:00,” Mr Bekker said.
The candidate of the LCF was not available at about 9:00 and the members of the ANC did not wish to speak to the newspaper, saying they are not allowed to speak to the media.
Ms Venter, when asked, agreed with the ACDP about the turn-out.
Some jokes were shared as the queue slowly moved toward the entrance of the hall.
The IEC-officials made enquiries as to the age of voters and asked women if they were pregnant.
The elderly, over 70, were allowed to skip the line.
An exception was made for a woman, baby ensconced to her upper body, to move forward when the sun beat down mercilessly.
An eightyish, blind woman, accompanied by another woman, was also handled with respect.
While waiting to enter the hall, a resident remarked on the licence fees for trucks, running into the thousands.
“Where is that money going to?” she asked.
“It should be used to maintain the roads.”
When the newspaper left at 10:00, more locals fell in line.
Number-wise, the Lekwa-council has 12 ANC ward winners, two Freedom Front Plus ward winners and one DA ward winner.
Taking party representation into account, the 30 seats in council will be made up by 13 ANC-members, six LCF-members, four DA-members, three EFF-members, three FFP-members and one member of the African Transformation Movement.
