The MK Party has won the hotly contested Richmond by-election (Ward 2) in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands despite a low key campaign, shocking the ANC, the closest contender, and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).

This has earned the Jacob Zuma-led party its first seat in the Richmond Local Municipality, which falls under the Umgungundlovu District Municipality.

Ahead of the by-election, the ANC pulled out its big guns, including Deputy President Paul Mashatile and former provincial chairperson, Siboniso Duma, to campaign for it, but still lost the ward to a party that appears to have spent little to woo voters.  

The ANC also staged a sham defection rally of MK Party members to its ranks, saying they are dominant in the area. 

That angered the MK Party, which issued a statement and said the people the ANC paraded as its members who have defected are not known within its ranks.

The EFF also contested the by-election. Ahead of voting, the red berets helped the ward and bought it a transformer to service the indigent community after years of staying in darkness. Despite its efforts, the party only managed to score about 153 of the over 4000 votes cast on the day.

Despite the MK Party’s victory, the ANC still controls the largely agricultural municipality. This is because it still has right of the 14 seats.