There were 27 by-elections contested on Wednesday. It was meant to be 28, but the by-election in a marginal ANC seat in Jozini in KwaZulu-Natal was postponed. This meant that bar for one tricky ward in eThekwini (Durban), the ANC had little tough turf to defend. This was in stark contrast to the DA. The DA was defending three very marginal seats and two unpredictable wards.

The four wards won by the ANC will be first analysed and then there will analysis of the remaining 23 wards, province by province.

Ward 12 (Rhodes University) in Makhanda in the Eastern Cape ANC 54% (23%) DA 34% (68%) EFF 12% (9%)

Ward 12 has one voting district, centred on Rhodes University in the heart of Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown). The overwhelming majority of voters in this ward are either students, academics, or workers who live at Rhodes University. Because so many voters here are students, it means that many only live in the ward for a short period of time before moving on.

This was a municipality which opposition parties focused on in the 2019 elections, but the ANC remained resolutely strong here.

In 2016 the DA won the ward at a canter, winning it by 740 votes. However, when one considers the 2019 provincial results in the voting district, the DA only beat the ANC here by 89 votes. The ANC beat the DA here by 53 votes last night to pick up a seat which would have been considered most unlikely after the 2016 elections. While the Economic Freedom Fighters’ (EFF) percentage vote share grew from 2016 to 2019, they did not do as well as they did in May 2019 when they got 25% of the vote in the voting district.

Opposition parties wanted to make inroads here in the 2021 elections, and exploit the challenges faced by the ANC administration in the town. After last night’s result, the ANC will relish the 2021 contest in Makana.

Turnout was a pitiful 10% (40%).

The new council composition for Makana is ANC 18 (17) DA 7 (8) EFF 2-Total 27

Ward 29 (Actonville Apex in Benoni) in Ekurhuleni in Gauteng ANC 51% (38%) DA 41% (44%) IFP 5% (11%) NFP 1% EFF 1% (3%).

Actonville is a traditional Indian suburb in Benoni. The ward also includes Apex (Siyenziwe Day Care voting district) which has an informal settlement, where the ANC ran up the numbers in 2016. The ward used to belong to the ANC, but the DA won it off the ANC in a close race in 2016. The by-election was called because the ward councillor went to parliament. The most intriguing part of the ward is around the Davey Social Centre voting district. The IFP won here in 2016, beating the ANC to second place, but in 2019 the DA won the district, moving ahead of the IFP and the ANC. The most partisan DA area of the ward is the district around St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. The Actonville Community Hall and Actonville Primary School voting districts were carried by the DA in both 2016 and in May, 2019, but the gap was very narrow in 2019. The ANC knew that if they could flip these voting districts then they could regain this ward.

While the ANC knew they could count on the voters in Apex, they flipped both the Actonville Community Hall and the Actonville Primary School districts. In 2016 the DA got 58% of the vote at the Actonville Community Hall, and the ANC got 37%. The ANC received 62% of the vote at the hall, while the DA fell to 37%. At Actonville Primary, the ANC received 56% of the vote compared to the 35% they received in 2016, while the DA fell from 53% to 48%. This was a big reversal in the ward, and how the ANC ultimately prevailed in the by-election.

The DA was able to make inroads in Apex but it was not sufficient to stem their losses in Actonville. The ANC got 57% of the vote in Apex, down from the 64% they received in 2016, while the DA went up from 9% to 27%.

The DA’s stronghold in the ward is around the St Joseph’s Catholic Church in Actonville. While they again got their best returns here, they were well down from 2016. The DA’s percentage vote share fell from 71% to 58%, while the ANC’s almost doubled, increasing from 22% to 41%.

The DA flipped the Davey Social Centre voting district, winning it off the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) but Turn-out was way down in this district. The IFP finished behind the ANC in this district. The IFP’s percentage support in the ward dropped substantially.

This was a big win for ANC and Mayor Mzwandile Masina. The ANC won by 382 votes in this by-election. In 2016, the DA won by 394 votes and the DA won by 255 votes when you consider the provincial ballots cast in the voting districts of the ward in May 2019.

Turnout was 29% (51%).

The new Ekurhuleni council composition is ANC 110 (109) DA 76 (77) EFF 25 AIC 4 IFP 2 VF+ 2 PA 1 IRASA 1 PAC 1 ACDP 1 COPE 1-Total 224.

The ANC are now more secure in Ekurhuleni and can no longer be held to ransom by the African Independent Congress (AIC). They can work with the Patriotic Alliance (PA), Independent Ratepayers Association of Southern Africa (IRASA) and the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC).

Ward 30 (Allandale Copesville PMB) in Msunduzi in KZN ANC 48% (34%) DA 35% (53%) Ind-Singh 6% (5%) EFF 5% (4%)

The previous ward councillor Renesha Jugmohan defected from the DA to the ANC in the run up to the 2019 elections. The ward is north of Pietermaritzburg, on the R33 road to Greytown and Wartburg. It includes Allandale, Orient Heights, Dunveria and parts of Copesville.

In 2016 the DA won the ward by over 1250 votes, and on the provincial ballot in May 2019, the DA had a majority of over 960 when you consider the voting districts which make up the ward. The ANC achieved a stunning win here last by driving Turn-out in Copesville, their stronghold in the ward. The Turn-out in Copesville was at 43%, while it was at 20-25% in the traditional DA voting districts. The ANC got 778 more votes than the DA in Copesville, and due to the DA not able to get their supporters to the poll, the DA lost this ward to the ANC by 386 votes.

The ANC also picked up the Allandale Steak Den voting district off the DA. In May, the DA beat the ANC here by over 440 votes, in this by-election, the ANC got 9 more votes here than the DA.

When one considers the fact that since the 2019 national and provincial elections in May the DA has lost by-elections in Endumeni (Glenridge) in a ward which had a significant Indian population, a ward in Johannesburg which included the Indian suburb of Malboro Gardens, the ward in Ekurhuleni (Actonville) and that they lost so much ground in places like Allandale and Orient Heights here, and that narrowly held on to the Msunduzi ward which includes Bombay Heights, and lost much ground in Phoenix, it is clear that the DA has a lot of work to do among Indian voters.

Turnout was 28% (65%). If it was not for the Turn-out in Copesville, the Turnout would have been even lower.

The new Msunduzi council composition is ANC 53 (52) DA 14 (15) IFP 5 EFF 3 AIC 1 ACDP 1 Al-Jamah-ah 1-Total 78.

Ward 5 (Loeriesfontein) in Hantam in the Northern Cape. ANC 50% (39%) DA 49% (46%) EFF 1%

This is a marginal ward centred around the town of Loeriesfontein. Loeriesfontein’s claim to fame is that it has one of only four windmill museums in the world. It is north-west of Calvinia. The DA only won here by 109 votes in 2016, but their margin of victory was 374 votes when one looks at the provincial results of the voting districts in the ward in 2019. In May they carried all the voting districts in the ward.

The overwhelming majority of voters in the ward are in Loeriesfontein, with the remainder of the voters spread across 3 sparsely populated farming areas in the district.

The ANC took the ward from the DA by 6 votes. The ANC won the voting district in Loeriesfontein by 10 votes, in 2016, the DA won it by over 100 votes, and in 2019 by over 240 votes.

The DA might have swept the farming districts in May, but in 2016, the ANC got 6 more votes at Hantamsdrift. The DA won in Hantamsdrift by 6 votes in May, but in the by-election the ANC won convincingly in the district getting 13 more votes than the DA.

The DA also battled to turn out its voters and Freedom Front voters for it in Ramskop. While the DA got 12 more votes than the ANC here, Turn-out was way down at 12%. In 2016 they got 31 more votes than the ANC here, and in May, they got 108 more votes than the ANC. The subdued Turn-out in Ramskop was key in the DA losing the ward.

At Groot Toren farm, the DA might have prevailed by 5 votes, but this was well down from 2016 when they got 31 more votes than the ANC, and in May when they got 19 more votes than the ANC. The 32% Turn-out here was also not helpful to the DA.

Turnout was 69% (68%).

The ANC and Premier Zamani Saul will be delighted by winning this ward. This is a big boost for the ANC in Hantam on the road to 2021.

The new Hantam council composition is-ANC 6 (5) DA 3 (4)-Total 9.

Eastern Cape

Ward 21 in Mnquma (Nqamakwe, north west of Butterworth) ANC 90% (80%) COPE 7% (7%) EFF 3% (5%)

Mnquma municipality is centred around Butterworth in the former Ciskei. This is a municipality where the ANC improved on their percentage vote share on the provincial ballot, when comparing the 2019 results to the 2014 results. Places like Mnquma are emblematic of why the ANC did so well in the Eastern Cape in 2019, and why the party all but matched their 2014 returns in the province.

Ward 21 is around Nqamakwe village, north west of Butterworth in a more rural, sparsely populated area of the municipality. Nqamakwe sits between the N2 road linking Butterworth with Idutywa and the R352 road from Tsomo.

It was a dominant performance by the ANC. The EFF will be downbeat that they lost ground here.

Turnout 33% (53%).

Ward 10 (Queenstown Windsor Madeira Park) in Enoch Mgijima DA 74% (60%) ANC 25% (29%) EFF 2% (5%)

Ward 10 is mainly centred around Queenstown. The biggest voting district is in Windsor, around the Queen’s College Junior School. This is a traditional DA stronghold. The ANC’s stronghold in the ward is in Madeira Park. The ANC also has the advantage in the suburb of Kingsway. There is one small voting district on the outskirts of Queenstown next to the R61 on the road to Tarkastad.

The DA improved on their 2016 showing by turning out their voters in Windsor. The Turn-out in Windsor was at 43%, which was much higher than the Turn-out in Madeira Park and Kingsway, where Turn-out was 28% and 16% respectively. This result will motivate the DA.

Turnout 35% (59%).

Free State

Ward 17 (Thabong Ext. 14 Welkom) in Matjhabeng ANC 91% (84%) EFF 9% (9%)

Thabong is the largest township in the mining town of Welkom. This ward sits near Doringpan on the outskirts of Welkom.

The ANC remains far ahead of the pack in Thabong, as they beat the EFF on a margin of a greater than 10:1.

Turnout was 36% (54%).

Ward 10 (Rammulotsi Viljoenskroon) in Moqhaka ANC 88% (72%) EFF 12% (10%)

Moqhaka is a municipality where the ANC lost much ground in the 2019 elections. They went from 66% in 2014 on the provincial ballot, to 56% on the provincial ballot, putting the municipality in play in 2021. The principal town in the municipality is Kroonstad.

The challenge for the opposition is that ward 10 remained rock solid for the ANC in May. Rammulotsi is a township on the outskirts of the farming town of Viljoenskroon. The ANC had a significant improvement on their 2016 showing as they came close to getting 90% of the vote in the by-election. This was an important result for the ANC in Moqhaka on the road to 2021.

Turnout was 36% (49%).

Gauteng

Ward 15 (Kempton Park Birchleigh Glen Marais) in Ekurhuleni. DA 64% (88%) FF+ 30% (3%) ANC 5% (6%)

The ward sits in Kempton Park, beyond the OR Tambo Airport (if travelling from Johannesburg). Most of the ward is sandwiched between the R21 and R25 roads.

Suburbs like Birchleigh, Glen Marais and Van Riebeeck Park in Kempton Park sided heavily with the DA in 2016. The FF+ only managed 3% in the ward. The FF+ made good gains in the voting districts in the ward on the provincial ballot in 2019 getting between 14% and 16% of the vote. Voters in this ward also know that by voting for the FF+ there is very little chance of them splitting the opposition vote to hand the ward to the ANC. The FF+ also recruited Johann Jordaan to run for this seat. He used to be the DA ward councillor in nearby Norkem Park.

The Freedom Front Plus (FF+) gave the DA a fright in this contest. They got between 29-31% across the four voting districts in the ward. The DA got as low as 58% in Glen Marais and Van Riebeeck Park. The FF+ have now laid down markers in Mogale City, Johannesburg, and Ekurhuleni. It will be interesting to see what they achieve in the rest of the province.

Turnout was 28% (68%).

DA holds Ward 8 (Randfontein Toekomsrus Bhongweni) in Rand West City. DA 55% (51%) ANC 32% (39%) ACDP 7% EFF 6% (9%).

Rand West City was formed after the 2016 local government elections when there was a merger between Randfontein and Westonaria municipalities. Ward 8 sits close to Randfontein and includes Toekomsrus, the mining village of Bhongweni, Azaadville and Homelake.

A by-election was held here in April just before the national and provincial elections. The new ward councillor died after complications from a medical procedure.

While the DA exhibited growth in the April by-elections, in the May provincial elections, the ANC won the voting districts in this ward on the provincial ballot by just under 110 votes. The ANC carried the voting districts in Bhongweni, Homelake and Azaadville.

The DA improved on their April showing by getting a relatively superior Turn-out to the ANC in their stronghold of Toekomsrus. Turn-out in Toekomsrus was 33%, compared to 22% in Bhongweni and 20% in Azaadville. The 326 vote margin of victory in Toekomsrus made it impossible for the ANC to make up the votes elsewhere to close the gap, and the DA won the ward by 262 votes.

This was the best result of the night for the DA.

Turnout 28% (32%).

Ward 21 (Mohlakeng Randfontein) in Rand West City ANC 79% (56%) EFF 21% (14%)

Mohlakeng is a township just south of Randfontein, between the R559, R28 and R93 roads. The by-election was called after the previous ward councillor Festus “Mchini” Matshogo was assassinated.

Both the ANC and the EFF were primed to do well as the party who came second here in 2016, the Randfontein People’s Party (RPP) did not contest this time round, after receiving 24% in 2016.

The ANC will be delighted with this big win in the ward.

Turnout was 25% (57%).

KwaZulu-Natal

Ward 3 (Senzokuhle Qadi) in eThekwini in KZN ANC 45% (44%) Ind-Gcabashe 43% (33%) IFP 10% (5%) EFF 2% (1%)

Ward 3 sits above Inanda, north west of the Durban city centre. It is on the edge of eThekwini.

This result will give the ANC the most concern after the last round of by-elections. Independent candidate Falakhe Gcabashe lost to the ANC by a mere 85 votes in the by-election, and came close to causing a major upset in Ward 3. The ANC got 80% of the proportional representation (PR) vote here in 2016, but got only 44% of the ward vote in 2016. Gcabashe gave them a scare in 2016, and an even bigger one last night. While the ANC won 10/14 voting districts in the ward, Gcabashe pushed them in many marginal districts.

Turnout was 44% (63%).

Ward 27 (Morningside Essenwood) in eThekwini DA 88% (77%) ANC 10% (17%) IFP 2%.

Ward 27 is on the Berea in Durban. It is the ward which brings euphoria, and gloom to so much of the city, as it houses Moses Mabhida Stadium, Kings Park, Greyville racecourse and the Royal Durban Golf Club.

There was a low Turn-out in this safe DA ward but there were encouraging returns for the DA in voting districts where the ANC is normally competitive. This allowed the DA to come close to getting 90% of the vote in the ward.

Turnout 20% (58%).

Ward 31 (Musgrave Berea) in eThekwini in KZN. DA 74% (63%) ANC 16% (25%) ACDP 5% IFP 2% EFF 2% (2%)

The Berea is the ridge on the northern side of the city just above the Durban city centre. The DA had a convincing hold here as the ANC lost ground in a ward where they got a quarter of the vote in 2016.

Turnout was 18% (58%).

Ward 35 (Umhlanga La Lucia) in eThekwini DA 81% (78%) ANC 14% (18%) IFP 3%.

Ward 35 is a DA stronghold which includes Umhlanga, La Lucia and Glenashley. The ward does include one voting district in Cornubia which breaks heavily for the ANC.

The DA will be satisfied with this win. In the DA voting districts, their support ranged from 94% to 98%.

Turnout was 30% (69%).

Ward 48 (Phoenix Clayfield) in eThekwini in KZN. DA 35% (53%) MOSA 23% (11%) ANC 19% (26%) DLC 13% MF 5% (3%)

Ward 48 is in Phoenix, north-west of Durban. It includes the suburbs of Clayfield and Rockford.

The DA struggled here and will have to go back to the drawing board to reconnect with Phoenix voters. While they received 531 more votes than the second-placed Minorities of South Africa (MOSA), the party lost 3 voting districts, losing two to the ANC and 1 to MOSA. The DA was unable to get above 50% in any of the voting districts. MOSA won a voting district in Stonebridge, while the ANC won districts in Rainham and Clayfield. In 2016 the DA won here by 2870 votes.

The ANC might have won two voting districts but lost ground in this by-election. This will concern them. They had a poor set of results in eThekwini. While they did well in by-elections in all other races across the province, returns were dim in eThekwini.

Minorities of South Africa was a breakaway from the DA and they will be delighted with this strong second place finish. Their leader hails from Phoenix are set to remain a fixture in Phoenix politics. The Democratic Liberal Congress (DLC) will be happy that they finished well ahead of the Minority Front (MF) for fourth place.

Turnout was 26% (58%).

Ward 28 (Bombay Heights Northdale PMB) in Msunduzi DA 49% (73%) ANC 47% (18%) MF 4% (2%)

The previous ward councillor Claudell Chetty-Naidoo defected from the DA to the ANC in the run up to the 2019 elections. The ward is north of Pietermaritzburg and includes Bombay Heights, Northdale, Belfort and New Holmes.

DA just averted a complete meltdown here to hang on to this ward by a mere 59 votes. DA got 2300 more votes here than the ANC on the provincial ballot in May, and got 2971 more votes than the ANC in 2016.

The DA easily beat the ANC in every single voting district here in May. Last night the ANC came out tops at the Kharina Secondary School, and the Silver Heights Secondary School districts in Northdale. The DA achieved their best result at the Heather Secondary School in Northdale, by getting 59% of the vote, but only 17% of the registered voters here turned up. For the ANC, this result, coupled with the upset win in Ward 30 will do much to lift the spirits after a tough national and provincial campaign in KwaZulu-Natal in May.

Turnout was 24% (60%).

Ward 2 (Mambulu Sondokhulu) in Maphumulo in KZN. IFP 56% (63%) ANC 43% (36%) EFF 1%.

Maphumulo is in sugar cane country. The municipality lies between the town of Kranskop and KwaDukuza, north of Durban. It is a rural municipality, with most of the land being tribal, and administered by the Ingonyama Trust.

Ward 2 is between the R74 road from Kranskop to Maphumulo and the Tugela River. It is a rural, sparsely populated ward. The by-election took place because the previous ward councillor Mfanzo Nzuza was assassinated.

In 2016, the IFP won the ward by 782 votes, on the provincial ballot in 2019, they won here by 528 votes, winning 9 out of the 11 voting districts.

The ANC made good inroads in this rural ward, resulting in the IFP only winning the ward by 322 votes. The ANC won 5/11 voting districts last night. What was critical for the IFP was that they won by a wide margin at the two districts which received the most votes in the by-election-Nokobusa Primary School, where they won 86% of the vote and at Mambulu Primary School, where they won 69% of the vote.

Turnout was a very solid 55% (63%).

Ward 9 (Bhongweni Kokstad) in Greater Kokstad ANC 87% (64%) EFF 12% (14%) IFP 1%.

Greater Kokstad’s principal towns are Kokstad and Franklin. The municipality borders the Eastern Cape and sits in the ANC heartland of southern KwaZulu-Natal.

Ward 9 has four voting districts. The DA carried the one voting district in the town in 2016, but the ANC ran up the numbers in the other 3 voting districts in and around the township of Bhongweni. The DA did not contest here this time, neither did the AIC who came fourth in 2016. It was only the ANC who seemed to benefit from the smaller field as they ran away with the by-election. Southern KwaZulu-Natal remains an area where the ANC dominates elections. The EFF will be disappointed by their returns here.

Turnout 28% (58%).

Limpopo

Ward 4 (Mookgophong) in Modimolle-Mookgophong ANC 61% (60%) EFF 35% (29%) Mookgophong Party 2% (4%)

Modimolle-Mookgophong is one of two municipalities in Limpopo where the ANC fell short of winning the majority of seats in 2016. The DA and FF+ govern here with the outside support of the EFF.

The municipality is in the Waterberg region of the province. The ward is in and around the Mookgophong township by Naboomspruit.

The ANC was able to hold its own in the lone Limpopo by-election. The EFF will be satisfied with their decent growth. The result of this by-election suggests that this will be one of the municipalities to watch again in 2021.

Turnout was 41% (57%).

Mpumalanga

Ward 12 (Warburton Lothair) in Msukaligwa. ANC 66% (72%) EFF 34% (5%)

Msukaligwa is in the Gert Sibande region of Mpumalanga. Its principal town is Ermelo. Ward 12 is centred around the villages of Warburton and Lothair, near the N17 national road and the R33 road which links Warburton with Amsterdam.

The EFF surged in this by-election, and what will really encourage them is that this is more in the eastern part of Mpumalanga, and not in the western part of the province where they have traditionally given the ANC headaches in by-elections. The EFF also won a voting district in Warburton, at the Alliance Church of SA voting district where they received 51% of the vote. The DA did not contest here. They came second here in 2016 when they received 20% of the vote.

Turnout was 40% (61%).

Ward 15 (Klarinet Old Coronation) in Emalahleni. ANC 57% (68%) EFF 43% (23%)

This ward is in on the outskirts of Witbank in coal country. The bulk of the ward is in the village of Klarinet on the R544 road, north-west of Witbank. It also includes the Old Coronation informal settlement.

The EFF had a very good showing in this by-election. They came close to doubling their percentage share of the vote in the ward. They were also able to win a voting district off the ANC. They won the voting district, in and around the informal settlement near Old Coronation. It must be noted that Turn-out here was only 13%. Turn-out was 32% in Klarinet.

The EFF will hope that they can get many more councillors elected in this part of Mpumalanga in 2021.

Turnout was 25% (46%).

Ward 29 (Empumelelweni Wilge) in Emalahleni ANC 64% (74%) EFF 16% (16%) Ind-Lukhele 16% FF+ 4%.

Ward 29 stretches from the township of Empumelelweni which is next to Witbank, all the way to the Gauteng border. It includes Wilge which houses an Eskom power plant and the village of Balmoral.

While the ANC might have lost some ground they will be satisfied with these returns, especially considering, the former ANC ward councillor, Bafana Lukhele stood as an independent. The EFF were unable to replicate their growth as they did in the other Emalahleni ward.

The FF+ would have wanted to win the Balmoral voting station. There is a small Afrikaner community who have aspirations of forming a republic there. The ANC beat them by 9 votes in the district.

Turnout was 24% (52%).

Ward 2 (Daantjie) in Mbombela ANC 89% (84%) EFF 11% (13%)

Mbombela has never been kind electorally to the EFF. Municipalities like Emalahleni are far kinder to it than Mbombela. This is a super safe ANC ward centred around Daantjie, which is east of Nelspruit towards the Kruger National Park.

The ANC improved on their 2016 showing to fall just shy of 90% in the by-election. The ANC seem unstoppable in this part of the province.

Turnout was 24% (61%).

Ward 30 (White River) in Mbombela DA 72% (70%) ANC 21% (20%) ACDP 5% EFF 2% (3%)

White River is north of Nelspruit. The DA won easily here in 2016, but it was a narrower win on the provincial ballot in 2019, as the FF+ made gains in White River and ANC voters turned out in the voting district of the White River Town Hall.

The DA had an easy hold, but it must be noted that the FF+ did not contest here. The DA were also able to get their supporters to the polls. Turn-out was highest at Rob Ferreira High School, a vote rich area for the DA. The ANC had less success in this regard. The ANC does best around the White River Town Hall district. It carried this district in May during the national and provincial elections. The DA got 73 more votes here in the by-election. Turn-out was lowest here. This affected the ANC.

Turnout was 29% (63%).

North West

Ward 16 (Geelhoutpark Rietvlei). DA 73% (60%) ANC 22% (21%) EFF 5% (12%)

The majority of the ward is in the suburb of Geelhoutpark, which is west of the centre of Rustenburg. It lies between the R104 and the N4 roads. It also includes the rural area of Rietvlei, which is on the R565 road.

The DA achieved a good win here. It must be noted that the FF+ did not contest here. The FF+ made inroads in this area during the 2019 elections. What also assisted the DA was that their supporters came to the polls, while the Turn-out in the ANC stronghold of Geelhoutpark Secondary School was much more subdued. This subdued Turn-out had a knock-on effect on the EFF, as they not only got less actual votes, but their percentage vote share at Geelhoutpark Secondary School fell. The EFF will be dejected by this result.

Turnout was 25% (59%).

Ward 26 (Tlaseng Tantanana) in Rustenburg ANC 72% (70%) EFF 21% (25%) Ind-Dikutle 7%

This ward is north east of the town of Rustenburg. It comprises of various villages and settlements which includes Tlaseng and Tantanana. It is a safe ANC seat.

The ANC had an easy hold here, and this result is key as the ANC hopes to win Rustenburg outright in 2021. The EFF will be disappointed by this showing.

Turnout was 42% (57%). DM