The battle for political control of the JB Marks Local Municipality remains finely balanced, with the African National Congress (ANC) holding a razor-thin lead over the Democratic Alliance (DA) as the counting of votes nears completion.

With 102 of the municipality’s 106 voting districts counted by 10:52 on Friday, November 6, the ANC was ahead with 43,113 votes, representing 32.71% of the votes counted. The DA was breathing down their neck with 42,951 votes (32.59%).

The difference between the two parties stood at just 162 votes, The ANC will most likely win the final Ward 27 votes based on the current standings.

30 seats has so far been decided. The ANC currently has 18 seats and the DA has 12.

The provisional results show the ANC leading in 22 wards, while the DA is leading in 12 wards out of the 34 wards in the JB Marks Municipality.

The ANC’s has the majority votes in wards 1, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 and 34,

The DA has the highest percentage of votes in wards 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 15, 21, 22, 23, 24 and 28. They have also won three new wards, which includes ward 2, ward 21 and ward 28.

One of the significant developments in the election has been the DA’s performance in ward 21 in Promosa, where the party won the ward vote, which has previously been an ANC-led ward.

The DA has also performed strongly in wards 7 and 22, areas with a substantial student population.

In the previous 2021 election, the ANC won 33 seats with the DA taking 17.

A closer look at the numbers:

While the ANC leads on the combined vote count, the DA is marginally ahead on the ward ballot itself.

The DA received 21 945 ward-ballot votes compared with the ANC’s 22 047 – a difference of only 102 votes.

On the party ballot, however, the ANC received 21 678 votes against the DA’s 21 393, giving it a lead of 285 votes.

Who will govern JB Marks?

The JB Marks Local Municipality has 67 council seats, meaning a party needs at least 34 seats to obtain an outright majority.

The number of wards won is only one part of the equation. The final council composition also includes proportional-representation (PR) seats, which are allocated according to the party-ballot results.

At this stage, the overall vote count and ward leads do not provide a final seat allocation. The remaining votes and the IEC’s final calculations will determine how many seats each political party receives.

If neither the ANC nor the DA secures 34 seats, the municipality could once again face a hung council, making coalition negotiations necessary.

Other political parties such as the VF Plus, EFF, ActionSA, BAAGI and the PA could consequently play an important role in determining the next municipal administration, including the election of the mayor and the formation of the mayoral committee.

What does this mean for the future of JB Marks?

Regardless of which party eventually takes control, the next administration will inherit a municipality facing significant challenges.

Residents across Potchefstroom, Ikageng, Promosa and Ventersdorp continue to raise concerns about service delivery, water supply, sanitation, sewage infrastructure, roads and municipal financial management.

The election results reflect a closely divided electorate, with neither of the two largest parties enjoying a substantial lead over the other.

For the ANC, maintaining control will depend on its final seat allocation and whether it can secure the support needed to govern.

For the DA, its strong ward performance and narrow overall deficit place it in a position to be a significant player in the formation of the next council.