Africa-Press – South-Africa. The IFP is upbeat about its by-election performances, including taking a recent ward from the ANC in the Msunduzi Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal.
The ANC had previously held the ward since 2021.
The IFP obtained 57.79% at Wednesday’s election, compared to the 38.44% in 2021.
The ANC managed to retain a ward in the Ray Nkonyeni Municipality on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal. There was, however, a slight decline, compared to 2021, with the IFP making some inroads.
An elections monitoring expert, Wayne Sussman, told News24 there were similar trends of an IFP resurgence in areas previously dominated by the ANC.
“The ANC has traditionally been dominant in the Umgungundlovu District Municipality, which includes the Pietermaritzburg and uMshwathi Municipality the IFP won a ward off the ANC there. The IFP also made inroads into the ANC’s support base in uMshwathi.
“Former president Jacob Zuma’s gift to the ANC was turning Southern KwaZulu-Natal into rock-solid ANC territory, and we saw the IFP make inroads there. So the IFP is on the way up in KZN in all parts of the province and not just in Northern KZN,” Sussman said.
He added that the EFF, which had done well previously in the 2019 elections in KZN, had not performed to standard trends.
Sussman said the IFP could easily target a strategy of bringing the ANC below 50%.
“One of the reasons the EFF did so well in 2019 was their growth in KZN, but the results yesterday disappointed them. The IFP’s growth is hampering the ANC and the EFF. Ahead of the 2024 elections, the IFP would need to bring the ANC under 50%. The party is facing a resurgence and is capturing parts of KZN,” Sussman said.
The IFP also managed to win a ward from the ANC in Durban in December 2022.
The IFP’s national spokesperson, Mkhuleko Hlengwa, told News24 that it proved the citizens would give the party a chance.
“It’s a great moment for the IFP and democracy, in light of the underhanded tactics and intimidation used by ANC in the Msunduzi by-election. The people have spoken, and their voice is loud that they trust the IFP.
“Our strategy and hard work are paying off positively. Overall, the IFP had a good by-election day. Even though we didn’t win in the Port Shepstone and uMshwathi by-elections, we have registered significant and serious growth. We thank the people for trusting us and assure them that their trust is not misplaced,” Hlengwa said.
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