ANC grabs Durban ward from DA

ANC Ward 71 Branch Secretary Falakhe Mhlongo and victorious ANC candidate Previn Vedan / Photo via Twitter: Kiru Naidoo
@kirunaidoo

ANC grabs Durban ward from DA in forced by-election

ANC member Previn Vedan is the new boss of Ward 71 in Chatsworth.

ANC grabs Durban ward from DA

ANC Ward 71 Branch Secretary Falakhe Mhlongo and victorious ANC candidate Previn Vedan / Photo via Twitter: Kiru Naidoo
@kirunaidoo

The African National Congress (ANC) in eThekwini has managed to snatch a Durban ward from the Democratic Alliance (DA), which won it almost ten years ago.

Ward 71 in Chatsworth is now controlled by the ANC, thanks to a forced by-election emanating from the resignation of the incumbent DA councillor, Sharon Hoosen. As reported by News24, the voter turnout in the eThekwini by-election on Wednesday was 31.11% – ANC candidate Previn Asoka Vedan won the seat with 45.70% of the votes cast.

Ward 71 includes Shallcross, Crossmoor, Moorton and Bottlebrush.

In the final tally, Vedan managed to secure 2 793 votes, while DA candidate Fatima Ismail got 2 325 votes.

Bheki Ntuli: ANC victory shows that the party is loved by all races

ANC eThekwini’s regional secretary, Bheki Ntuli, maintained that this victory was a sign of more to come, assuring the public that the party would continue to beat the DA at every given opportunity, saying:

“We would like to thank the Chatsworth community for voting for us in their numbers. This shows that the people, regardless of their race, still trusted the ANC in KZN because the majority of the population at Ward 71 are Indians.

We are happy that they voted for us and got rid of the DA.”

Democratic Alliance left disappointed

Nicole Graham, DA eThekwini leader, said that while the official opposition party still controlled a number of wards in the Chatsworth area, it would need to redouble its efforts and commitments to the community, saying:

“We need to look at different factors and go back to the drawing board to make certain improvements. However, there are a number of wards we still control in Chatsworth and we have a number of councillors allocated there.

We are still going to do everything we can to ensure the people in those communities have the best possible service from the Democratic Alliance.”