DA Tlokwe’s caucus leader, Hans-Jurie Moolman, says one of the election discrepancies occurred in Ward 21 (Promosa) and the DA has already lodged a formal complaint with the IEC. He says the only remedy will be a revote in that ward.

The main contentions in Ward 21, according to him, were that the number of votes was not reconciled before the counting of votes started.

“The number of votes counted did not add up to the number of voters counted by party agents on the day of voting. There was a difference of more than 300. After four recounts from 3 August till the morning of 5 August, the number of votes still did not add up.

He says the other worrying factor was that the ballot box was not sealed in the presence of the party agents of the political parties.

“The IEC promised a report to reflect the chain of custody of the ballot box from when it left the voting station on 3 August until the recount was done at the IEC offices on 6 August.

No report has been forthcoming. Despite a formal and written objection by the DA, no response has been forthcoming and neither were any results of an investigation provided,” he said.

The EFF will also be requesting a revote in Ward 20 because of alleged irregularities. The EFF’s Richard Ramalisa says in Ward 20, 842 people voted but the IEC used 1100 ballot papers in each stream. The other complaint is that ballot boxes were not sealed for more than two days.

The ANC’s local election coordinator, Thabo Mosiane says the ANC in Tlokwe/Ventersdorp Municipality 405 is very happy to have retained power.

“We won 24 of the 34 wards contested. We are happy with the work our electoral institution, the IEC, has performed, despite minor glitches here and there. In the main, they did a splendid job.

He stressed that the ANC remains committed to its system of participatory democracy and respects the voices of the voters.

“We are not bothered by opposition parties continuously refusing to accept that the masses of our people prefer the ANC as their only home and hope for a better tomorrow. Can they grow up, please?” he exclaimed.

He added that the issue of demarcation is dead and buried. “We are now talking Municipality 405. The ANC is ready to continue with its good governance. We call on all our colleagues in the opposition benches to now put all hands on deck for accelerated service delivery. The people have spoken,” he said.

The NWU political analyst, Prof. André Duvenhage says the current state of seat allocation at the council is 34 members (ANC) and 33 (opposition combined).

“If there is a re-election and opposition parties manage to win one (wards 20 or 21), the total will be 33 ANC and 34 (opposition combined). This will mean a government change if all opposition parties form a coalition against the ANC. Thus, the difference of one ward can mean a government change in Tlokwe/Potchefstroom/Ventersdorp,” he said.