“The process went smoothly — but exhausting,” says new Cederberg Democratic Alliance (DA) councillor Dr John Hayes. Following a by-election on Wednesday, 13 October, Hayes will be the new ward councillor for Ward 5 in the Cederberg Local Municipality, which covers Lambert’s Bay and the village of Leipoldtville. 

The ward was hotly contested and tense, with some residents claiming the by-election has caused friction within the small community. 

Read more in Daily Maverick: “Lambert’s Bay – a divided Western Cape town in the midst of a crucial by-election”

Hayes (62) has been the town’s medical doctor for 35 years. “I did it for the community,” he said about standing as a candidate. He said he stood in a bid to ensure the Cederberg municipality’s political and financial stability. 

Daily Maverick spoke to several residents in the town who told of negativity among political parties during the by-election, which caused friction in the area. Residents said this was something the new councillor — Hayes — would need to immediately focus on repairing. 

Hayes said that on Thursday morning that there was only a small motorcade by the party and not the usual big victory parade. “I told people, thank you for voting for us and for the support.”  

While in Lambert’s Bay on Wednesday evening, Daily Maverick heard several shouts of joy as the result of Hayes’ win started filtering through the town after 11pm. Final results showed the DA and Hayes winning 1,451 (45.74%) of the votes cast. 

For a further breakdown of Wednesday’s results, read elections analyst Wayne Sussman’s piece here: “DA doctor beats mayor Farmer in Cederberg, while IFP flips the script in southern KwaZulu-Natal”

During the by-election, there were allegations of intimidation and attempted bribery of residents, including that parties provided electricity, money and food parcels to prospective voters. In one instance, as reported by the Cape Times, a man claimed ANC members offered him R100 and a food parcel to vote for the party, something the party said it was not aware of. 

During the by-election on Wednesday, former Cederberg mayor Dr Ruben Richards told Daily Maverick that he was there to support Hayes. 

At meetings to support Hayes, Richards said that in the coalition between the DA, Cederberg Eerste (CE, Richards’ party) and the Freedom Front Plus (FF+), they were looking for the best candidate and “at this point in time, Dr John Hayes is the best candidate, so we support him”. 

Richards said because Hayes had been the town’s medical doctor for 35 years, “He’s so wired to help people and build bridges — that’s what we need to reinforce.” 

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A return to power for the DA/FF+/CE coalition

On Thursday, parties were quick to celebrate Hayes’ victory. A statement by the multiparty coalition of the DA, CE and FF+ said it wished Hayes well in his new role. 

The three parties formed a coalition after the 2021 municipal elections and used their majority numbers to gain control of the council. However, when motions of no confidence in its mayor, Speaker, and deputy mayor were passed, the coalition moved on to the opposition benches. The ANC and PA then governed the municipality. 

However, the DA’s Speaker and Ward 5 councillor William Farmer had his party membership terminated after he voted against his own coalition to remove Richards as mayor. Farmer’s ward became vacant as a result. 

On Thursday, the coalition said that rather than split the vote, the coalition had decided to field only one candidate, who would stand under one condition: the person was the best candidate for the task. 

“CE and FF Plus, therefore, decided to place all its support behind … Dr John Hayes, a member of the DA, the local medical doctor of the town for over 35 years already,” read the statement from the coalition. 

“We are pleased to confirm that Dr Hayes’ victory at the polls yesterday means that the coalition will regain control and govern the Cederberg municipality,” said the coalition. Its first task would be to “assess and repair the damage caused by the ANC and the PA since they took over in July 2022”. 

However, on social media, FF+ MP Corné Mulder stated: 

DA arrogance in full cry. Cederberg Ward 5 could not be won by DA without Cederberg First and FF Plus support. It was jointly agreed not to split vote. Without that PA would have won and ANC/PA coalition would rule. Why this arrogance. Did DA learn nothing from loss of Jhb?

— Corné_Mulder (@MulderCorn)

 

One of the next steps will be to have a council meeting where it is expected that the DA/CE/FF+ coalition will use its majority to kick the PA/ANC coalition out of power and once again govern the small municipality. DM