Tshwane mayoral candidate Didiza confident ANC will retain the capital

Tshwane African National Congress (ANC) mayoral candidate Thoko Didiza voted with a smile and a thumbs-up this morning.

The announcement of Didiza as the ruling party’s candidate sparked violence protests across the capital which left five dead and millions of rands of property‚ including busses and shopping malls‚ damaged.

The “parachute candidate”‚ as she has become known‚ was rebuked by outgoing mayor Kgosientso Ramokgopa’s supporters.

It is now up to SA’s 26.3-million voters as stations open

Didiza‚ chatting to early morning voters at her voting district in Mooikloof‚ east of Pretoria‚ said she believed the party had done enough to ensure the ANC retained the hotly contested city of Tshwane.

The Democratic Alliance is making a big bid for the capital‚ one of three cities it is hoping to take away from the ANC.

“We are more than ready to carry on running this city. We are certainly capable of doing so‚” she said.

Live results, cool maps, fierce battlegrounds: follow the local elections on our web app:http://bit.ly/2apwZKU

– TMG Digital/The Times