DA’s Chabalala believes party is heading for more than 60% of Emfuleni vote - News24

DA mayoral candidate Kingsol Chabalala says his party is on course to secure more than 60% of the vote in the embattled Emfuleni Local Municipality as counting continues.

By 19:00 on Thursday, the DA was leading in Emfuleni with 54.83% of the votes counted.

Chabalala told News24 on Thursday morning that the figures coming from wards and voting districts where counting had been completed gave the party confidence that it was heading for victory.

“The numbers we are getting from the wards and voting districts that have completed counting, I am comfortable to say we are going to get between 60% and 70%,” he said.

He added that the party believed it had secured between 30 and 32 of Emfuleni’s 45 wards, although counting was still under way in several areas at the time he spoke to News24.

Chabalala said the results reflected exposés by News24 and other media houses about poor service delivery, corruption, financial mismanagement and maladministration in the municipality.

“As the DA Emfuleni team, we worked hard and have been consistent over the years. Our achievements did not start during these elections. It is 10 years in the making,” he said.

He pointed to the party’s victories in predominantly black wards during the May by-elections as a turning point in its efforts to grow its support in traditional ANC strongholds.

“Securing our first wards in a black township under this municipality highlighted the beginning of our story in townships,” Chabalala said.

He said many, including the ANC, had expected the party to lose Ward 28 in Beverley Hills and Ward 1 in Evaton to its opponents.

Although the official outcome is yet to be announced, Chabalala promised that a DA-led municipality would prioritise service delivery and restore stability.

“We are going to give them a municipality that is not characterised by chaos. We are not a white party but a party that delivers services to everybody,” he said.

He credited the party’s campaign, which he said focused on issues affecting residents, for its performance.

“People saw through our campaign that we are walking the talk. We are grateful to every media house that helped us expose Emfuleni. Through the media, our message reached far,” he said.

He also promised DA voters that the party would tackle the municipality’s most pressing problems.

The revenue department has previously come under scrutiny following the murder of whistleblower Martha Mani Rantsofu, who was attached to the department.

Rantsofu was murdered after allegedly exposing the looting of municipal revenue involving employees and service providers.

Visit the News24 elections map to see how your ward and municipality voted as the results come in.

News24 surveyed 5,001 registered voters to reveal who leads, what voters want fixed, and which coalitions South Africans could support.

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