The Inkatha Freedom Party continues to enjoy the large support in KwaZulu Natal despite facing a fierce contender in the Umkhonto WeSizwe Party.
This was testament by the party’s wins in the recent Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) by elections being held in the province.
The IFP show of force was witnessed when it won the Newcastle by elections in ward 11 in the northern KwaZulu-Natal. The ward was previously held by the ANC until the councillor in the area resigned when he took a full-time job with the municipality.
The party also won the fiercely contested by elections in ward 2 Pongola, also in the northern KZN, which was also contested by the MK Party.
The party’s provincial chairman ,Thami Ntuli. said as the organisation, they were humbled by the victory in the by-election both from Pongola and Newcastle.
Ntuli said the victory gave them strength and confidence as they approach the general elections.
“As the IFP in the province, we remain happy for the victory of the two wards. The significance of these two by elections is that it affords us strength as we prepare for the provincial and national election, because that is the only barometer to measure the support of a political party when there are elections.
“These by elections play a crucial role in showing where people’s support is leaning towards come elections time,” he added.
Ntuli also appealed to newly-elected councillors to serve people with integrity, as the late IFP president, Mangosuthu Buthelezi, did when he was leading the KZN government.
He continued to express his gratefulness to the volunteers of the movement who made sure that they conveyed the party’s message to the people without any ambiguity, which resonated with residents.
Though the IFP had won the by-election, the former president Jacob Zuma’s MK Party continues to be the a threat for both the ANC and the IFP. This was seen by their recent results in the by election which showed improvements from their last contest.
The party managed to take away votes from the IFP and now recently from the ANC.
Ward 2 (Ncotshane) uPhongolo, Zululand: IFP 36% (48%) ANC 33% (43%) MK 28% EFF 2% (2%).
In the previous election in Vryheid in AbaQulusi, KwaZulu-Natal, the IFP beat the ANC which saw them sitting in the second-place finish, while uMkhonto weSizwe Party had an impressive first by-election outing, winning just under one-fifth of the vote to finish third.
The Star