DA, ANC win wards in EC by-elections

The DA retained Ward 2 in Dr Beyers-Naude Local municipality by-election on Wednesday, while the ANC retained Ward 18 in Intsika Yethu municipality.

The DA won the ward by 1232 votes.

The new DA councillor is Ricardo Smith.

During the 2016 municipal elections, the DA 78% of the votes, up from 76%.

The ANC won the Intsika Yethu ward by garnering 75.67% of the vote.

The new ward 18 councillor is Lusanda Makade.

Meanwhile, DA Eastern Cape leader Nqaba Bhanga said the result was a resounding vote of confidence in the DA.

"This endorsement from the voters proves that the DA remains on track to remove the ANC from power in the Dr Beyers Naude Municipality.

"Voters in rural Eastern Cape have shown that they are fed-up with the empty promises of the failing ANC government.

"This increase in rural support in the Dr Beyers Naude and the DA’s massive urban growth in the recent Ward 2 by-election in Nelson Mandela Bay highlights that the DA continues to grow and is ready to govern," Bhanga said.

Emboldened by the win, Bhanga said the DA was set to increase its number of representatives in the Eastern Cape legislature after the national and provincial elections come May 8.