The ANC retained control of two of the three wards in the Tlokwe (Potchefstroom) by-elections in the North West on Wednesday.
The party’s candidate Oupa Mogoshane lost Ward 26 with 900 votes to independent candidate Batiki “Stone” Mahlabe’s 1425 votes, according to the IEC’s results report.
The United Christian Democratic Party candidate Moeketsi Phakedi received 10 votes.
A total of 5677 people were registered to vote in the ward of which only 2374 cast their ballot. There were 39 spoilt votes.
Mahlabe, who was a former African National Congress councillor in the area for 12 years, registered as an independent candidate after he was expelled along with 13 others from the party in July for participating in a motion of no confidence against Tlokwe mayor Maphetle Maphetle.
Maphetle was replaced by Democratic Alliance councillor Annette Combrink.
However, the ANC’s national disciplinary committee overturned the expulsions but Mahlabe decided not to return to the party.
In the 2011 local government elections, the African National Congress won Ward 26 with 3403 of the 3580 valid votes cast, which gave them an overwhelming majority of 95.06 percent of the votes.
The ANC won the by-elections in Ward six and 18 on Wednesday.
In Ward 18 the ANC faced off with another former party member and provincial chief whip David Kham, who registered as an independent candidate.
Kham, like Mahlabe, was one of the 14 councillors expelled from the party.
ANC candidate Thapelo Skozana won with 884 to Kham’s 520 votes.
The Azanian People’s Organisation’s Matladi Mofokeng received 11 votes and the UCDP’s Molebatsi Lehloo 10 votes.
A total of 3251 people were registered to vote in Ward 18 but only 1452 votes were cast and 27 of those were spoilt.
In 2011, the ANC won the ward with 1859 of the 2009 votes cast which resulted in a 94.37 percent victory.
In Ward six the ANC’s Japhta Monaisa won 882 of the 1386 valid votes cast. The Democratic Alliance’s Johann Coetzee came in second with 493 votes.
Azapo’s Lesego Malepe received six votes and UCDP’S Mawela Dinko received five votes.
A total of 4254 people were registered to vote in Ward six but only 1408 came to the polls. There were 22 spoilt votes.
In 2011, the ANC received 1352 (64.26 percent) of the 2104 valid votes and the DA received 720 (34.22 percent) of the votes. – Sapa
