Nkangala ANCYL chairman Mduduzi ‘Mswati’ Nkosi has said the 55% that the ANC received in last week’s Delmas by-elections was an improvement from the 48% that the ANC got in 3 August 2016’s local government elections.
Nkosi was reacting to the IEC outcomes of Malita and Delpark’s ward 6 by-elections where the ANC got 55.75% and the DA got 33.84%, saying without the rain the ANC would have got more than 70% which he said was their target.
But he first thanked Diikgetse Sepenyane, the husband of Maria Sepenyane, the ward councillor who was forced to resign by the ANC after it emerged she was not the one chosen by community members during the selection process earlier this year. This after Diikgetse Sepenyane had had registered as an independent candidate to contest the same by-elections.
“I appreciate the engagements that we had with the provincial spokesperson of the SACP comrade Lesetja Dikgale, the ANCYL together with the regional secretary [James Makhwiting] and provincial secretary of the ANCYL comrade Pholoso Mbatsane and deputy secretary of the province comrade Sonto Mnguni, together we were able to engage with leaders of the SACP in the province and they were able to link us with the independent candidate [Diikgetse Sepenyane] and I’m happy that the independent candidate, a member of the SACP, decided to withdraw and rallied everyone who supported him to channel those votes to the ANC,” he said.
SEE HERE: Husband of removed Delmas councillor contests by-elections
Sepenyane registered as an independent candidate but withdrew on the eve of Wednesday’s by-elections to support the ANC.
“We are very happy for that and we really appreciate the manner in which also her wife, comrade Maria, conducted herself as she was up and down assisting during the elections and telling people to vote for the ANC,” Mswati said.
When asked whether a 55% win signified that the by-elections were fiercely contested, Mswati shot that down, saying there was no such a thing as everybody knows that most of ANC voters in the evening, who are mine-workers, could not come to the polling station due to the heavy rainfall that followed afterwards.
READ ALSO: ‘DA growing at 33% in Delmas by-elections’
“You’d understand that in the 3 August local government elections we got 48% and now we received an increase of more than 7%, but 7% is nothing to the ANC.
“We were interrupted by rain. Other than that we would have had 70% plus.
“Although we are accepting that the DA came in numbers but they must just thank the storm because we know our stronghold are people who are working in the mines and in Kusile power stations and when they were about to knock off there was a heavy rainfall and that rain definitely assisted the DA because people were no longer able come and vote during rain,” said Mswati.
“But then as the youth league in Nkangala we appreciate that the programs that were initiated by the league’s provincial executive committee led by our secretary Pholoso Mbatsane yielded positive results as much as we humble ourselves and appreciate, saying thank you to the constituency and the people of ward 6 in showing the prophets of doom that the ANC remains the beacon of hope,” Mswati said.
“In the same length and breadth, we are thankful of the presence of chairman David Mabuza in the briefing session and minister Jeff Radebe and that’s why we are always saying that in our province we are led,” he said.
The other parties that were contesting in Delmas’ ward 6 were the EFF (5.36%), FF+ (2.05%) and NFP (0.26%).
READ: Nkangala ANC ‘humbled’ by 55% win in fiercely contested Delmas by-elections
Mswati said they were also grateful for Mishack Mthombeni, their candidate, being the youngest of all councillors in the Nkangala region.
“But as the young league we appreciate the level of humbleness and respect showed by Sepenyane after the engagements and we are calling on all the groupings in Victor Khanye to rally behind the ANC, not stop contesting as individuals because the divisions are not good for the community we serve, the differences must be resolved now”, Mswati said.
(edited by MLM)
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