Three by-elections were held across South Africa yesterday, with the African National Congress (ANC) defending two seats, and the Democratic Alliance (DA) winning another off the ANC.

In Elundini (Maclear) in the north-east corner of the Eastern Cape the ANC faced only token resistance, winning just over 90% of the vote yesterday. None of the other major parties fielded candidates with the only party to provide any resistance being the African Transformation Movement 7.4%. The rest of the votes went to a minor party – the Africa Unemployed Congress.

In Tshwane the ANC defended another seat in Mamelodi, winning just over 50% of the vote yesterday. In the 2021 local government elections the ANC had won 46.9% of the vote in the ward.

In yesterday’s by-election it faced resistance from the DA, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), and Umkhonto weSizwe Party (MK). The EFF won 22.9% of the vote, with MK securing 13.5%. The DA, meanwhile, won 11.5%.

The DA will be particularly pleased with the result – in the 2021 local government election it had won only 3.5% of the vote in the ward. Its raw number tally also increased – in 2021 it had won 146 votes, yesterday this jumped to 493.

DA insiders told The Common Sense that the party’s performance in the ward bode well for the next local government elections, especially in the Gauteng metros. The party now has a realistic shot of being the biggest party in all three Gauteng metros, The Common Sense was told.

In the final by-election it was another good result for the DA, where it won a seat off the ANC in Emalahleni (Witbank). In the 2021 local government poll, the ANC had won 49.1%, while the DA had managed 29.1%. The rest of the vote was split between other parties, primarily the EFF and Freedom Front Plus.

Yesterday, however, the ANC suffered a reverse, winning only 35.4% of the vote, with the DA securing 36.7%. MK took third place with 18.1% with the EFF getting 14.2%.

The loss for the ANC now means it loses its majority in the municipal council – it now holds 34 of the council’s 68 votes, and will have to seek support from other parties to stay in control.

The DA will be very happy with its performance, which gives the party momentum ahead of the next local government elections, due to be held in late 2026 or early 2027.