The future of the Thabazimbi Local Municipality in Limpopo looks uncertain again after the by-elections failed to produce an outright winner.
Even though the African National Congress (ANC) won the majority of the votes in the December 4 by-elections, it will need the help of the Economic Freedom Fighters or Democratic Alliance (DA) to govern the hung and chaotic council until the 2026 Local Government Elections.
This is because the by-elections in the iron mining town produced no outright victory, resulting in yet another hung council outcome.
The ANC is now forced into coalition government talks with the DA, EFF and smaller parties to govern the Waterberg district mining town.
During a media briefing on Thursday, the IEC’s Provincial Electoral Officer (PEO) for Limpopo, Nkaro Mateta declared that the municipality would remain hung and that voter turnout was just 38.55%. She announced that the ANC secured the majority of votes, 39.65%, but more was needed to govern the council.
This translated to 10 council seats. The DA ranked second, garnering 16.41% of the votes and earning four seats. The EFF claimed three seats with 13.32%.
Smaller parties also made gains, with the Labour Party of South Africa and Freedom Front Plus (FF+) winning two seats each, with vote shares of 8.59% and 7.09%, respectively. The Labour Party is aligned to Joseph Mathunjwa’s Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU).
Former president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party and the Thabazimbi Residents Association (TRA) each claimed one seat.
Mateta also confirmed none of the independent candidates had secured seats.
The IEC statement indicated that the commission has not received any objections from any of the 21 parties and five independent candidates so far.
“The Electoral Commission of South Africa is pleased to announce that the by-elections in the Thabazimbi Local Municipality in Limpopo proceeded peacefully and without incident on 3 and 4 December 2024.
“The by-elections took place at 57 voting stations, including three voting centres, spread across the 12 wards of Thabazimbi Local Municipality. With over 51,000 registered voters eligible to participate in this important democratic exercise in Thabazimbi, the Electoral Commission is encouraged by the turnout of voters in this by-election of 38.55% (19,812 votes out of 51,399 registered voters). This falls within the range of our normal by-election turnout of 40%,” the IEC said.
“Of particular interest to the Electoral Commission, is the observation of how the participants have accepted the by-elections results, heralding them as free and fair. This is testimony to the professionalism with which the Electoral Commission has conducted these by-elections. The first results trickled in in the early hours of this morning, with Ward 11 being the first to complete its counting and submission to the Results Centre at around 1 am. Ward 2 results were the second to come through at around 1:50 am, and Ward 6 followed at 2:20 am. The ward with the highest voter turnout recorded is ward 4 with 48.95%, while the ward with the lowest voter turnout is ward 11 with 18.72%,” added the commission.
The Commission extended its gratitude to all voters who exercised their democratic right to vote, political parties, candidates, and their agents for their commitment to peaceful and fair elections; members of the media who reported on the elections; and the Electoral Commission staff and security agencies for ensuring the smooth conduct of the polls.
The Limpopo government dissolved the Thabazimbi Local Municipality in September, citing the collapse of governance after continuous disputes between the ANC and DA over the control of the council coffers. This paved the way for the by-elections.
