ANC scores landslide win in Ward 45 by-election
The residents of Ward 45 made their voices heard in last week's by-election by electing an ANC councillor to replace Mandla Mamba.
BARBERTON – They had threatened not to support the party when the popular Mamba was asked to resign earlier this year.
He was elected to represent the ward in the City of Mbombela in the local government elections in August. He has since been mired in controversy and was recalled by the party to be redeployed elsewhere.
He had been charged, alongside other men, for allegedly setting alight the house of a man thought to have committed a murder. Many of his court appearances have gone hand in hand with protests from the community he represented.
However, they rallied behind the party’s new candidate on Wednesday and elected Lifa Blessing Nkosi ahead of the EFF’s candidate, Lucia Phethile Maseko.
According to the IEC, the party retained the seat with an increased margin of 88,45 per cent (compared to 82,34 per cent in 2016).
Voter turnout was much lower than during the election, with only 37,06 per cent of registered voters casting their ballots, compared to 57,68 per cent last year.
The ANC in Mpumalanga welcomed the result “with glee”.
Provincial secretary, Mandla Ndlovu assured voters that “their votes were not in vain and were not taken for granted, but will be used to intensify our fight for a better life for all.
“This victory was extremely important to the ANC in the province, because it came at a time when doomsayers and those opposed to the democratic revolution were starting to write the obituary of our glorious movement.
“This election victory was a clear message that our people only trust the ANC in the fight against poverty, unemployment and inequality,” Ndlovu said.
