Five by-elections to take place

All eyes will be on ward 53 in the City of Johannesburg this coming week as it holds a by-election.

The ward, which consists of Doornkop, Doornkop Ext 1, Slovoville, Lufhereng, Lufhereng Ext 5 and 6 and Dobsonville Gardens, will take place on Wednesday at seven voting stations.

Special voting will take place on Tuesday.

The candidates are Ntshavheni Thovhedzo Mutavhatsindi (ANC), Ramaru August Mohale (DA), Sunboy Mukhabela (EFF), Duduzile Ngubeni (ActionSA) and independent candidate Mbhekeni Abednigo Shongwe.

The vacancy in the ward councillor position came after the death of ANC councillor Ntaoleng Mpho Mofokeng in March.

On March 15, police were called to a scene in Green Village where Mofokeng, 47, was found with with a gunshot wound on the upper body and a firearm next to him.

Police have since opened an inquest docket for investigation and are waiting for post-mortem results to confirm the cause of death.

Mofokeng won the ward after the November 2021 local government elections.

The voter turnout in this ward during last year’s municipal elections was 37% of the 19,474 people registered to vote.

The ANC won the ward with 59%.

Electoral Commission of SA spokesperson Kate Bapela said 19,832 people are registered to vote in the upcoming election.

Of this number, 780 have been approved to cast special votes through home visits and at the voting stations.

Four other by-elections will take place on Wednesday in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape.

Gauteng’s ward 29 in the Rand West City local municipality will be contested by the ANC, DA, EFF and Azapo.

The ward was won by the ANC during the municipal elections.

The ward councillor position became vacant as a result of the death of the ANC councillor.  

Ward 3 in the uMvoti local municipality in KZN will be contested by the ANC, EFF, Inkatha Freedom Party and the Abantu Batho Congress (ABC).

The ward was previously won by the ABC. A vacancy was created as a result of the ABC councillor’s resignation.

Ward 10 in the Dr JS Moroka local municipality in Mpumalanga will be contested by the ANC, EFF, African Independent People’s Organisation and an independent candidate.

The ward was previously won by the ANC and became vacant as a result of the death of the councillor.  

In the Northern Cape, ward 4 in the Kareeberg local municipality will be contested by the ANC, DA, EFF, Kareeberg Civic Movement and the Patriotic Alliance.

This ward was previously won by the ANC during last year’s municipal elections and became vacant as a result of the councillor’s resignation.