MK party gets 1.4% in North West by-election

Jacob Zuma’s MK party recorded 1.41% of votes in a by-election in Madibeng, North West, on Wednesday. 

This was a slight improvement on the 0.78% of votes it recorded in April in Eastern Cape by-elections in two wards in Blue Crane Route municipality and in Joe Gqabi district municipality.

Madibeng municipality’s ward 1 remains in the hands of the governing party. The ANC won the ward with 70% of the vote, compared with the 57% it received during the 2021 municipal election. Voter turnout was 49.99%.

The last time the MK party received significant votes in by-elections was in February, when it won 28% in Phongolo, Zululand, and 28% in Govan Mbeki municipality, Mpumalanga.

 The MK party centred its election campaign on “winning a two-thirds majority” when it contests elections for the first time. Since 1994 no party in its first election has attained a two-thirds majority.

ANC breakaway Congress of the People (COPE) received 1,311,027 votes in 2009 a few months after it was founded by Mosiuoa Lekota, Mbhazima Shilowa and Mluleki George.

In 2014 the EFF received 1,169,259 votes when it contested elections for the first time. The DA contested its first national elections in 2004 and received 1,931,201 ballots. 

Zuma ambitiously believes that the EFF’s votes combined with the MK party’s votes in the general election later in May will change the voting trajectory.

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