Voters queue at dawn during the national elections in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, on 22 April 2009. (Photo: EPA / Nic Bothma) 
Northern Cape
Ward 4 (Douglas) Siyancuma, Pixley Ka Seme: DA 56% (34%) ANC 33% (16%) PA 5% EFF 4% (3%)
The setting: Ward 4 is centred on the town of Douglas, the townships of Bongani and Riemvasmaak and two other voting districts including Bucklands, which is at the confluence of the Orange and the Vaal rivers and contains the Vaal Lus Estate. Both are farming areas which include plots and smallholdings. Afrikaans and Xhosa are the main languages in the ward.
The other main town in the municipality is Griekwastad. Siyancuma forms part of the Pixley Ka Seme district which includes the towns of De Aar, Prieska and Colesberg.
The 2021 local government election: Local farmer and renowned horse breeder Wim van Bergen shocked the DA by winning this seat as an independent. He beat the DA by 95 votes, winning 39% of the vote, while the DA took 34%. The ANC was a distant third with 16%. Another independent candidate finished fourth with 4%, just ahead of the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) and the EFF, which both finished on 3%.
The DA won 64% of the proportional representation (PR) vote, with the ANC second on 19%. The FF+ was third with 12% and the EFF fourth on 4%.
Van Bergen and a host of other independent candidates were unable to form a local party in time but decided to run together as a loose group of independents. He and one other candidate won two of the seven wards. It was an impressive showing for the new grouping.
The ANC lost its outright majority, winning six of the 13 seats. The DA was the second-largest party with three, while the FF+ and the EFF won a single seat each. The EFF was the kingmaker and helped vote in Van Bergen as mayor. The coalition did not last long as the EFF soon struck a deal with the ANC.
The 2024 provincial election: The DA won 51% of the vote here, with the ANC second on 22%. The provincial Northern Cape Communities Movement (NCCM) came third with 10%. The FF+ was fourth with 7%, followed by the EFF with 5%. The Patriotic Alliance (PA) made strides in many parts of the Northern Cape but only obtained 1% here.
The by-election: The ward councillor died. There were no independent candidates on the ballot this time.
The DA beat the ANC by 486 votes to pick up this ward. The DA only won two of the five voting districts, as the ANC took most of them, including the rural, sparsely populated Plaas Kerk district, which was carried by the DA on the proportional ballot in 2021 and on the provincial ballot in 2024.
Most of the votes cast were in the diverse Bongani voting district. The ANC won it with 46%, with the DA second on 37% and the PA third on 10%. The ANC had a margin of 82 votes over the DA.
In Douglas town, the DA beat the ANC by 594 votes. It was one-way traffic in this district, since the DA did not have to contend with a popular independent or the FF+. The ANC did not do sufficient damage to the DA in Bongani to come close to closing this large gap.
One concern for the DA will be the turnout differential between Bongani and Douglas. In 2021 there was a 7% gap in turnout between Douglas and Bongani, in 2024 on the provincial ballot there was a 20% gap, while in this by-election Bongani had 7% more than Douglas.
The Northern Cape is where the DA did the worst in 2024 relative to its 2019 returns. This win for the party will do a lot to lift the morale of their activists, since they have not had much to cheer about in the province. They will be hoping that this result will be the start of a turnaround here.
The ANC and PA will have positive takeaways from this by-election. The ANC was able to turn voters out in Bongani and picked up a voting district. The PA battled here in 2024 but has now created a footing with its 10% return in the Bongani district.
New council composition: ANC 6 DA 4 (3) Independents 1 (2), FF+ 1 and EFF 1 in the 13-seat council. The ANC and EFF still have the numbers for their coalition to govern Siyancuma.
Poll: 61% (63%)
Limpopo
Ward 34 (Bogalatladi Atok) Fetakgomo Tubatse, Sekhukhune: ANC 79% (76%) EFF 15% (19%) DOP 4% (<1%) SACP 1% Bolsheviks (1%)
The setting: Ward 34 is on the chrome belt on the R37 which links Burgersfort with Lebowakgomo. Its key villages are Atok and Bogalatladi. Sepedi is the dominant language in this part of Limpopo.
Fetakgomo Tubatse is the third-most-populous municipality in Limpopo and its seat of power is Burgersfort. Premier Soccer League team Sekhukhune United FC are based in the municipality.
The 2021 local government election: The ANC won more than three-quarters of the vote here, beating the EFF by 1,571 votes. The EFF was the only other party to feature in the ward.
The 2024 provincial election: The ANC won 82% of the vote. Again, the EFF was the only party to get into double percentage figures with a 13% return.
The by-election: The ward councillor died after a short illness. The SACP entered this contest, hoping that its hammer and sickle could chip away at the ANC’s impressive Bushveld Complex wall of defence.
The ANC grew in this by-election compared with its 2021 result, winning more than 80% of the vote in six of the 10 voting districts. Its best result was 94% at Mashikwe village near Atok.
The EFF was second with 15%, scooping more than 20% in three districts. Its best showing was 30% in the village of Monametse, which sits between Atok and the Bauba chrome mine.
Read more: By-elections hub
The SACP only won 1% in a recent Polokwane by-election, and did not register excitement among voters in Fetakgomo Tubatse either. The party only obtained 1%, 119 votes behind the third-placed Defenders of the People (DOP). The SACP will want to work to prove this emerging trend wrong. It will need to be far more selective when choosing places to contest by-elections, because this and the Polokwane result suggests that the ANC do not have much to worry from the SACP about in the next election – in Limpopo at least.
Poll: 50% (46%)
Eastern Cape
Ward 4 (Cacadu) Emalahleni, Chris Hani: ANC 92% (85%) PAC 8%
The setting: Cacadu, formerly Lady Frere, is the seat of power in Emalahleni. Unlike Emalahleni in Mpumalanga, this is historic coal country, not current coal country. Cacadu was part of the former Transkei. Operatic soprano Pumeza Matshikiza hails from this municipality. Cacadu sits between Khowa (historically Elliot) and Komani on the regional R410 road.
Emalahleni forms part of the Chris Hani district which includes Komani and Cofimvaba.
The 2021 local government election: It was a runaway victory for the ANC here. The EFF was the next-best party with 8% of the vote.
The ANC won all 17 ward seats in Emalahleni, taking 28 out of the 34 total seats in the municipality. The DA and EFF won two seats each.
The 2024 provincial election: The ANC won 76% here. The EFF was the only other party to get into double percentage figures (11%). The United Democratic Movement (UDM) came third with 6%. The Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) garnered less than 1%.
The by-election: Ward councillor and chief whip Xoliseka Lali was murdered in his Komani home. Four suspects have been arrested.
The ANC romped home, winning more than 90% of the vote in four of the five districts. The ANC did best at Bakanini Primary School (98%).
Poll: 36% (45%)
The next round of by-elections will be on 10 September when the ANC will defend seats in Soweto in Johannesburg, Bela Bela in Limpopo, Nala (Bothaville) in the Free State and Kou-Kamma (Misgund) in the Eastern Cape. DM