Cape Town – The DA has won an outright majority in the Prince Albert municipality, breaking the ANC and Patriotic Alliance-led dominance in the Central Karoo region.
This followed a win in the ward four by-elections on Wednesday where a former Karoo Gemeenskap Party (KGP) councillor, Margy Jaftha reclaimed her ward.
Jaftha resigned from KGP earlier this year to join the DA and was promptly named candidate to contest the ward. She is reportedly likely to be re-elected as mayor now that the party has the majority seats in the council.
The party secured 50.60% of the votes, the equivalent of 1 053 votes.
“This victory is a clear indication of the trust rural voters have in the DA,” said the DA’s interim provincial leader Tertius Simmers.
“It marks a turning point, not only for the Prince Albert Municipality but also for the rest of the Central Karoo.”
The DA, according to Simmers, has a proven track record of “clean governance”.
“Prince Albert will be a shining example of what the DA can bring to the rest of the Central Karoo.“
He added: “We are confident that (Jaftha) will work hard to bring quality service delivery and good governance to her community.”
The EFF, which also contested the by-election, received a mere 13 votes.
Both the ANC and the PA did not contest the election to try and give the KGP’s leader, Goliat Lottering a better chance of winning but the party fell short with 48.4% of the total votes.
Both parties share power in the region which has Beaufort West and the Central Karoo District led by the PA’s Tershia Prince and Gayton McKenzie while the ANC’s Johanna Botha is mayor of Laingsburg.
Weekend Argus.
