The Democratic Alliance and Inkatha Freedom Party retained all constituencies in the province, while the MK Party won one constituency from the ANC. (Photo: Ihsan Hafezi/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Despite the Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) party inviting national organiser Floyd Shivambu to campaign in eThekwini ward 33 on Tuesday, former president Jacob Zuma's party has withdrawn its initial support for the ward following the results of the May elections.
In the general election on May 29, the MK party won 26.36% of the vote from the constituency, but in Wednesday's by-elections, that dropped significantly to 14.51%. The ANC fell further from 28.9% in May to 4.93% this week, while the Democratic Alliance (DA) more than doubled its support from 39.21% to 80.56%.
The Economic Freedom Fighters did not stand as candidates in this constituency or in the other three constituencies in eThekwini, where by-elections were held on Wednesday.
A total of 23 by-elections were held in 14 municipalities in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, Limpopo and the North West.
In KwaZulu-Natal, nine by-elections were held in nine municipalities, seven of which were due to the resignation of a provincial assembly member, and two due to vacancies created by the death of a sitting member.
KwaZulu-Natal's provincial electoral commissioner, Futi Masinga, said turnout was “not very good”, averaging 40%. The lowest turnout was in eThekwini metropolis, where just 19% voted.
The highest turnout in the province was in Mooi Mpofana (54%) and Ley Nkonyeni (52%) municipalities, the only constituencies MK won in this week.
The DA retained five seats in the province, the ANC two and the Inkatha Freedom Party retained Nkandla 4 ward.
Masinga said the South African Electoral Commission had an obligation to raise any issues that could have a significant impact on the outcome of the by-election by 5pm last Friday but no issues had been reported by the political parties.
Following the MK party's unexpected victory in the by-elections in Potsane, North West, two weeks ago, the ANC in Gauteng was not taking any risks and sent party cadres to campaign for the party in Soweto, Lenasia and Mogale City on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The ANC won two of the three constituencies it contested in Gauteng, with Al-Jama'ah in Lenasia winning the third.
ANC first deputy secretary-general Nomvula Mokonyane campaigned for the party in Soweto and Mogale city on Tuesday, while the party sent provincial and regional leaders on its final campaign to call for votes in Tladi Moletsane ward 21 on Wednesday.
Among the leaders deployed to counter the MK threat were Gauteng ANC chairperson Panyaza Lesufi, provincial secretary TK Nchiza, Johannesburg regional leader Dada Molero and Johannesburg regional secretary Sasavone Mangani.