The DA and the Patriotic Alliance (PA) have snatched three wards from the GOOD Party in by-elections held in George this week.
The hotly-contested by-elections saw the DA winning Ward 16 and Ward 27, and the PA winning Ward 20.
The vacancies in the wards were a result of the resignation of two councillors, all from the GOOD Party.
DA provincial leader Tertuis Simmers said the party prevailed despite attempts by opposition parties to “derail their campaign”.
“The voters of New Dawn Park, Pacaltsdorp and surrounds, held fast and were impervious to undue influence and fake news by the opposition.
“Residents chose to vote for good governance and service delivery. These wards are now in the capable hands of Theresa Jeyi and Marchell Kleynhans, and we are confident that they will serve their respective communities with passion and integrity,” he said.
PA spokesperson Steve Motale thanked voters and said that they wanted allegations levelled against the DA to be looked into.
“It is clear that the momentum of the PA continues as we grow our numbers and support. Most importantly, we wish to thank each and every voter who put their trust in the PA. These elections will, however, also be remembered for the aspersions cast on the DA of electoral fraud. We could not care if the DA did try to lie. Serious questions will have to be asked about the manipulation of the voters roll and the allegations made by GOOD of the DA registering voters who live outside the ward they should be voting in. We call on the IEC to exercise basic common sense when auditing voters rolls,” Motale said.
GOOD Party secretary-general Brett Herron said the systems developed to protect the integrity of South Africa’s democratic electoral processes failed the people of George.
“GOOD submitted evidence to the IEC five days before the by-elections, demanding that the by-elections be postponed until the voters roll had been investigated and cleansed. But the IEC responded that the information was received too late to be considered, and the Electoral Court appeared to agree.”
IEC provincial electoral officer Michael Hendrickse thanked voters that came out despite the inclement weather from the three wards, to vote and participate in choosing their representative.
Cape Times