By Lungani Zungu
It may just have been a victory in a municipal ward, but the IFP’s campaign to snatch KwaZulu-Natal back from the ANC appears to be slowly gaining steam.
They easily won Wednesday’s by-election in Ward 9 in Mtubatuba. The IFP was almost certain of victory even before any votes were cast – this after the cash-strapped ANC failed to pay the registration fee on time and was not allowed to field a candidate.
The ANC blamed the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) for this, alleging that an IEC official gave the party a wrong bank account number to deposit the money required before a party can field candidates.
The IFP won by a landslide, bagging 77% of the votes, an increase from 38% the party managed during the 2021 local government election.
This victory increased IFP seats from 19 to 20 of the 45 seats in the Mtubatuba Local Municipality. The co-govern with the EFF after there was no outright winner in the 2021 local polls.
Losing this seat means the ANC now has 15 seats.
The ANC received another hiding on Wednesday when the DA beat them in Ward 28 in Msunduzi, raking in 60% of the votes. The ANC managed to attract 27% of the votes.
The ANC’s strategy of dishing out food parcels ahead of this bruising by-election clearly didn’t work.
A third by-election on Wednesday, this in Ward 12 in Dannhauser, was postponed to 8 March after objections over the voters roll.
The IFP’s showing in Mtubatuba comes after the party has thumped the ANC in three previous, recent by-elections: In Ward 99 in eThekwini, Ward 5 in Mthonjaneni (Melmoth) and the crucial Ward 12 in Madlankala in the uMhlathuze (Richards Bay) Municipality.
The IFP’s provincial chairperson Thami Ntuli claimed that the party’s winning streak in by-elections is a precursor of what would happen in the 2024 national general elections.
“We are taking KZN back from the ANC because they have failed to improve the lives of South Africans,” said Ntuli.
The IFP was at the helm of the KZN government from 1994 until it was dislodged by the ANC in 2004, led at the time by former president Thabo Mbeki.
The IFP’s real test will come in next year’s national elections to see if they are able to sustain their current momentum.
Pictured above: IFP celebrates victory after winning a by-election from the ANC in Ward 9 in Mtubatuba
Image source: @IFP
