In a closely contested election, the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party’s Mandla Biyela emerged victorious and was officially elected the new Ward 110 councillor. Ward 110 residents braved the heavy rains and muddy conditions, to cast their vote in hopes of better service delivery during the ward by-elections on Wednesday, 16 April, while special votes took place the day before. Seven candidates contested with the MK receiving 2 435 votes (38.92%) with the DA in second with 2413 votes (38.6%). The ANC rounded up the top 3 with 966 votes (15.4%).
Newly elected councillor, Biyela, said that he felt happy and this is a big achievement not only for him, but for his MK President, Baba uMsholozi (Jacob Zuma), the whole MK family and community of Ward 110. He said: “I will call a community meeting of all the voting districts and ask them to tell me about their problems because they have different issues. Each and every district should have a structure which can report to me regarding whatever happens in their area. Our initial plan is to make sure that all the essential services which were not reaching the people of Ward 110 do reach them this time. The infrastructure that needs to be maintained, creating job opportunities as well for the people of Ward 110 is also amongst the priorities.”
Prior to the elections, MK Party’s Pamela Jali, a Mount Moriah resident, said that if they won, they would focus heavily on youth employment and job creation. Jali said: “We want change because we didn’t experience it under the previous leadership. Our communities were riddled with drugs amongst the youth and unemployment after school. Even those with tertiary qualifications struggle with job opportunities. Our roads are damaged and our houses are prone to damage – especially for most who stay in RDP houses in the area.”
She raised concern that their area is ignored/neglected when it comes to development and only certain areas in the ward receive immediate service delivery and attention. Jali was confident that change would occur after the election and there would be a new party in charge.
Residents said that infrastructure, water and waste collection are their main concerns, and they hope the newly elected councillor addresses these issues. One resident, who has stayed in Glen Anil for 42 years, said that councillors shouldn’t be blamed for lack of service delivery, and that the onus is on the municipality to provide the resources to fix issues as councillors are often held up. He said: “If it wasn’t for our councillors, we would have no voice. Some residents will complain and say the councillors are useless and don’t do anything, but they must realise that councillors can’t fix the roads, only the municipality can.”
ANC KZN Provincial spokesperson, Fanle Sibisi, said while they respect and uphold the will of the people as expressed through the ballot, they remained concerned by a series of irregularities that have severely compromised the credibility and integrity of the electoral process. Sibisi said: “On Tuesday, we officially lodged objections with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), citing glaring discrepancies, including the registration of voters at non-existent addresses and an inexplicably high number of individuals registered at single flats. These anomalies raise serious questions about the integrity of the voters’ roll and point to potential manipulation, which is both unacceptable and an affront to our hard-won democratic gains.”
Sibisi said that these irregularities will set a dangerous precedent and could further alienate communities from participating in the democratic process.
Final results: MK Party 2 435 votes, DA 2 413 votes, ANC 966 votes, Independent Candidate Bronwynne Delaney 387 votes, EFF 30 votes, 1860NIC Congress 16 votes, and NFP with 9. In total, 6 276 were cast, with 6 256 valid and 20 spoiled votes.
