DA retain Wards 35 and 36 with confirmed victory for Sam Reddy
Preliminary LGE results indicate that the DA has swept up the majority of the votes in uMhlanga and Durban North.
THE DA has retained Wards 35 and 36 following the conclusion of the Local Government Elections (LGE) on Wednesday (November 4), with counting still continuing at the Durban ICC.
According to confirmed results, Sam Reddy was voted Ward 36 councillor elect with 18 005 votes (81.65%) while preliminary results show Jacques Poupard was voted in as the councillor elect for Ward 35.
The MK Party accounted for 6.29% of the vote while the ANC secured 3.11% of the tallied votes.
Reddy, who has taken over from outgoing ward councillor Heinz de Boer, said he was blown away by the support shown by the electorate.
“When I started this journey, I knew that making a difference would take more than one person.
“It would take a community of people who care, who are prepared to get involved and who believe that we can build something better together,” said a delighted Reddy who thanked all those who made the possible happen.
Ahead of entering office he pledged to serve the community of Durban North. “The election was one chapter. The real work starts now.”
Below is a comparison between the 2026 and 2021 LGE showing the gain of the MK Party and the fall in the number of votes for the the ANC.
Meanwhile Poupard, who will take over from outgoing Bradley Singh, has lived and worked in uMhlanga for nearly 30 years and says he will be bringing his business expertise and extensive local knowledge to his tenure as Ward 35 councillor.
He previously served on the Ward 35 Ward Committee’s safety and security portfolio and stepped forward to support the community response during the July 2021 unrest in uMhlanga and greater North Durban.
As the councillor elect, Poupard said his key priorities for Ward 35 are to enforce by-laws while demanding municipal accountability and improving service delivery.
“I will hold municipal officials accountable for negligence, non-performance and service failures, while pushing for practical solutions to everyday municipal problems.”
He pledged to also tackle illegal construction, unlawful businesses, excessive noise, illegally modified vehicles and dangerous driving which continues to be a major problem in the area.
The IEC is expected to confirm the result on Sunday (November 8), once all the votes have been counted and verified.
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