Pretoria - Buffalo City Municipality and eThekwini have become the latest metros to complete capturing their results in the 2016 Local Government Elections.
According to the IEC results board at the results centre in Pretoria, counting and capturing of results has been done in the two municipalities. They join Nelson Mandela Bay and Mangaung, which completed counting earlier on Friday afternoon.
As earlier indications had shown, the ANC won Buffalo City with 58.74% of the votes, while the DA is trailing with 23.4%, followed by the EFF at 7.9%. The ANC will have 60 seats in that council, with the DA securing 24 and the EFF eight.
Buffalo City and Mangaung, which were added to the metro tier in 2011, are crucial municipalities and include important economic centres such as East London and Bloemfontein. About 880 000 people live in Buffalo City, which includes Bisho, the provincial capital, as well as King Williams Town. Key economic activities include the automobile sector, textile and the East London Industrial Development Zone.
The ANC also retains control of the eThekwini Municipality, which is home to Africa’s busiest port and has a population of more than three million. There, the party received 56.01%, with the DA following with 26.92% and the Inkatha Freedom Party managing to get 4.2% support.
Durban is also one of the tourism jewels of South Africa. After 2011, the ANC managed to get 126 seats in the council, while the DA and IFP received 43 and 9 seats respectively.
Mangaung, which is strategically situated in the centre of the country, is also a crucial metro. The Free State is bordered by Gauteng, the Eastern Cape, Northern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and North West provinces, as well as the neighbouring country of Lesotho, which makes it a key economic player. About 850 000 people live here.
After the 2011 Municipal Elections, the ANC clinched Mangaung with 66.27%. The municipality has been the party’s stronghold since the elections of 2000.
All eyes are now on Johannesburg and Tshwane councils, where the final results are still outstanding.
The DA, meanwhile, looks certain to retain Cape Town metro.
The IEC will officially announced the final results of the 2016 elections on Saturday. – SAnews.gov.za
