The African National Congress (ANC) has lost the highly contested Ward 30 by-election in Veeplaas and KwaMagxaki to the United Democratic Movement (UDM)‚ it was announced in Port Elizabeth early on Thursday morning.

Preliminary results show that the UDM clinched 49% of the vote‚ with the ANC trailing behind with 42%‚ followed by the Democratic Alliance which received 9%.

The UDM’s victory has reduced the ANC’s majority in the Nelson Mandela Bay council to 62 seats out of 120.

Ward 30 was abuzz on Wednesday as residents came in droves to cast their ballots in the highly contested by-election.

The ANC‚ DA and UDM were out in force from early in the day on Thursday‚ setting up branded stalls and displaying party regalia outside each of the five voting stations.