The Patriotic Alliance (PA) has come out victorious in the municipal by-elections in Eldorado Park
Even though the African National Congress (ANC) dominated a few Voting Districts in Kliptown, it failed to gunner enough support in both wards.
The Patriotic Alliance (PA) has come out victorious in the municipal by-elections which took place in Ward 17 and 18 in Eldorado Park last week. With PA colours, Peter Deon Rafferty is back in the office to finish his term as Ward 17 councilor with 43.97% support from the voters.
Ward 18 also fell in the hands of the PA with a 62.24% support, making Juwairiya Smith the new ward councilor. Even though the African National Congress (ANC) dominated a few Voting Districts in Kliptown, it failed to gunner enough support in both wards.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) appeared to be the biggest loser in these by-elections even though it got more support than the ANC in both wards. The fact that both Ward 17 and Ward 18 were previously run by the DA, made the blow even more severe for the party.
In a statement released after the by-elections, the DA said the results are a “message from our voters that we take seriously.”
[also read] – Residents cast their votes for their new Ward Councillors in Eldorado Park
Rafferty dumped the DA and joined PA late last year and according to him, he has never stopped serving the people of Eldorado Park and it’s all thanks to the support he has been getting from the leadership of PA.
There won’t be a honeymoon phase for Rafferty as he only has five months in office before the 2021 Local Government Elections. “For the next five months, the focus will be on service delivery.
We are working on the Wi-Fi rollout programme and sorting out open spaces where people get robbed,” said Rafferty about some of his plans. Smith who defected from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) said she didn’t leave the EFF under bad vibes but she felt that their focus was too much on youth employment.
While she agrees that youth employment is important, she believes service delivery should be equally prioritised. “Service delivery is going to be our priority in the next five months. We need to make sure that the grass is cut, electricity issues are dealt with, and also make sure that we work with the police to fight crime,” said Smith.
With 2021 Local Government Elections set for October, it remains to be seen if the PA will retain their support in these wards. It also remains to be seen if the results of the Wednesday by-elections paint a picture of what is going to happen come October.
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