GEORGE POLITICAL NEWS - The DA in George sees the results of last week's by-election as an early wake-up call, says DA Constituency Head Geordin Hill-Lewis. The DA won three wards in the by-elections and lost the fourth to the Good party.
The results in George and other parts of the country have dimmed the prospects of the DA in next year's municipal elections. It seems that the DA will have to fight to win over voters on two fronts: the traditional ANC camp and the smaller parties such as Good and the Freedom Front Plus.
Hill-Lewis says the results in George are a reflection of the problems in the George Municipality over the past year. Voters are sending a clear message on basic service delivery and corruption.
"The irony of the result is that it comes after we have started clearing up and removing people implicated in corruption," he says. "We would have liked to win all four wards. This is an early wake-up call. We will start working getting the confidence of the voters. It is better to have a wake-up call now, rather than later."
He is concerned about Good. "They are using DA election campaigning skills against us." However, he says, the DA's biggest threat is its own complacency. "We are now fighting to keep George under DA control. My big worry is that if Good gets enough support in George, they will hand the city back to the ANC, just as they are working on the national level with the ANC."
Asked about having to fight on two fronts, he says they have support in all the communities. "We are a truly diverse party. The smaller parties only look after the interests of specific communities. In politics you must never ever take your votes for granted. We will work for every single vote."
DA Constituency Head Geordin Hill-Lewis Photo: Michelle Pienaar
Doing Good
In a statement, Secretary-General of Good Brett Herron says that, after winning just 3% of the vote in George in the 2019 elections, Good has now emerged as the second biggest party in all wards contested. In each of these wards the ANC's support also tumbled significantly.
The results from the six wards the party contested in the Western Cape last week established Good as a major player for the 2021 local government elections and are a clear indication of political shifts taking place.
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