The uMkhonto weSizwe Party narrowly defeated the DA during by-elections in Ward 110 under eThekwini Municipality, on Wednesday.
Image: Itumeleng English / Independent Newspapers
IT TOOK a mere 22 votes for the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) to unseat the DA in Ward 110 in eThekwini during a fiercely contested by-election on Wednesday.
This is the MKP's first by-election win in eThekwini and has set in motion the party's ambitious plan to be the dominant force controlling the entity - the only metro in KwaZulu-Natal - after next year's local government election.
Led by former president Jacob Zuma, the MKP secured 2 435 votes in narrowly defeating the DA, which garnered 2,413 votes. The ANC came in third with 966 votes in what was once its stronghold.
The MKP's Mandla "Motaung" Biyela will now takes over as the new councillor of Ward 110.
The ward was previously governed by the DA, and it includes Phoenix, Mount Royal, and Umhlanga in the northern part of the city of Durban.
Other contesting parties included the EFF, they received only 14 votes, and the NFP, bagged a meagre nine votes. The IFP and ActionSA did not participate in the by-election.
Following the victory, the MKP's spokesperson, Nhlamulo Ndhlela, took to X (formerly Twitter), saying: "UMkhonto WeSizwe Party has once again proven that the DA-Led Coalition GNU is a farce, a massive lie that does not represent our people countrywide. KZN and other provinces are a case in point. This is a confirmation of the contradiction to the Provincial and National IEC Election."
This latest triumph adds to MKP’s momentum, following back-to-back by-election victories in March in Ward 2 in Richmond and Ward 28 in KwaDukuza. Both wards were previously governed by ANC that had to relinquish its hold on those wards.
The next round of by-elections will be in Mandeni, in the north of KZN, which has become another of the MKP's stronghold, on 30 April. While the ANC won the ward in 2021, MKP emerged as the most popular party during the 2024 national general elections.
MKP's secretary-general, Floyd Shivambu, is confident the party would "decisively" win the ward.
The MKP was formed in 2023 and contested the national elections last year, managing to win 58 seats in the National Assembly, which has 400 seats. In KZN, the MKP's most solid base, the party won 37 seats in the provincial legislature, with 80 seats.
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