EFF now official opposition in province

MBOMBELA – Following last Wednesday’s general elections, South Africans held their breath as the results poured in at the IEC results centre at Mbombela Stadium. Party representatives were monitoring the results and kept a watchful eye on the leader board in anticipation of their respective parties securing more seats in the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature.

The EFF emerged as the official opposition in the province after gaining 12,78 per cent of the votes, which is double the 6,26 per cent the party obtained in 2014. EFF provincial chairman, Collen Sedibe attributed this growth to the electorate understanding that its choices were not limited to the ANC only.

ALSO READ: Court in short: Farm manager found guilty and more

He said, “We have worked hard and listened to the people’s cries. We cannot continue having a situation where people are left without access to water, electricity or a functioning public health-care system. We are here to make sure that the ruling party is held accountable and that the people’s needs are met.”

DA provincial spokesman, Dumisile Masuku expressed similar sentiments, adding, “This election is a blow to the ANC and a victory for all opposition parties.” She was philosophical about the DA’s decline in numbers in Mpumalanga and said the dwindling support was not for lack of canvassing, but instead pointed to the robustness of South Africa’s democracy.

ALSO READ: Two policemen and a health dept employee arrested for dagga

“This year, 48 parties were represented on the national ballot and 28 on the provincial ballot.”

The DA scored 9,77 per cent of the votes, which is a slight drop from their 10,4 per cent in 2014. In terms of seats, the ANC has 22 after securing 70,59 per cent of the votes, which is down from the 78,23 per cent it garnered in the previous elections.

The EFF and DA have four and three seats respectively, while the FF+ got one, completing the 30 seats in the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature.

ALSO READ: Hazyview police baffled by stationary vehicle rolling into a ditch

Thandie Shongwe, who is a member of the ANC’s provincial executive committee, said, “The drop in support for the ANC shows that our democracy has matured. It was our intention to maintain the 78 per cent we had in the 2014 elections, but we think that the slight decline in support is due to the unrest and protests we saw across the country just before the elections. We have to go back to the drawing board because Mpumalanga is the home of the ANC and the drop in votes is a concern.”

This year’s elections have not been without controversy and allegations of double voting made the rounds after footage surfaced on social media of voters who had voted twice at different stations.

Shongwe said, “At the moment, these are all allegations which will be investigated by the IEC. As the ANC we are happy with the way in which these elections were run. However, there is always room for improvement.”

Masuku said the DA supported an audit of the results, adding that there were far too many irregularities which compromised the elections being free and fair.