Durban — With the DA’s support, the IFP in eThekwini said it was hoping to snatch ward 101 from the ANC.
The DA has again agreed not to contest the by-election to avoid the splitting of votes. The party said it was encouraging its voters to vote for the IFP candidate.
The by-election will take place on Wednesday where the IFP fielded Mandlenkosi Ntshangase while the ANC will be banking on Siphiwe Khanyile to keep the ward. Khanyile was with ANC candidate Siyabonga Mkhize in the car when gunmen attacked them a few days before the voting day.
In a joint media briefing, the DA and IFP announced on Friday that the DA will not contest the by-election and will support IFP’s Ntshangase.
Buoyed by the success of the same partnership in the ward 99 by-election, IFP eThekwini leader Mdu Nkosi said his party was very optimistic that it would snatch the ward from the ANC.
In ward 99 which encompasses eMkhomazi, and surrounding areas on the coast, south of Durban, the DA did not field a candidate and its voters supported the IFP candidate which scooped the ward from the ANC. The IFP’s Jane Naidoo defeated ANC Mzwandile Bhekingwe with 783 votes. The ward was left vacant after ANC councillor Mnqobi Molefe was gunned down in September last year.
Nkosi said the party was very hopeful it would win the ward despite challenges.
“We are campaigning against people using state resources to get votes, but we are campaigning strongly to win that ward. We have told people they must take those food parcels and blankets but vote for the IFP,” said Nkosi.
The IFP has noted that all of a sudden the people of ward 101 were the darlings of the ANC as government departments flock in and out of the area delivering services people have been waiting for years, he said.
He urged people not to be fooled and to vote wisely on Wednesday.
ANC spokesperson in KwaZulu-Natal Mafika Mndebele said the ANC will embarrass the IFP/DA coalition in ward 101, saying the ward has been a traditional ANC stronghold and no party will ever unseat the party in the ward.
“We are not concerned about the IFP and the DA in that ward because we know we are going to win. We are focusing on beating them by 3 000 votes,” said Mndebele.
The IFP was expected to benefit from DA votes in Manor Gardens and areas surrounding the University of KwaZulu-Natal. The ward also encompasses Cato Crest, Mayville where the ANC was strong.
This is the second by-election in the ward since the 2021 local government elections. The first was in March last year, caused by the killing of ANC candidate Siyabonga Mkhize a few days before the voting day. The ANC fielded the former councillor Mzimuni Ngiba, who was arrested a few months after his election for Mkhize’s murder. Ngiba has been in jail for more than a year now and the court again denied him bail on Friday. He was believed to have masterminded Mkhize’s killing.
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