Traditionally, wards in the Tatler’s distribution area have been strongholds for the DA and its former iteration, the Democratic Party, in the local government elections.
However, with councillors in four of the precinct’s five wards not standing for re-election in 2016, it is not as easy to predict which party’s representative will take the reins after Wednesday August 3.
This is particularly true if one considers that this year, the Western Cape will have no fewer than 77 political parties contesting the elections – the highest on record.
A number of new candidates have joined the fray, many believing their vision reflects the feelings of their respective communities.
That being said, the DA will again present a strong challenge as the incumbent party, despite so many of the party’s councillors choosing to pursue other interests.
In 2011, the DA captured a whopping 75.59 percent of the vote in Ward 53. The next best was the ANC with 19.92 percent, followed by the ACDP with 1.13 percent.
The trend continued in the southern suburbs’ other wards. In Ward 55, it was again the DA that triumphed (88.05 percent) over the ANC (6.54 percent) and Al Jama-ah (1.36%). Ward 57 saw a slightly stronger showing from the ANC (15.25 percent) but the DA still captured 75.42 percent of the vote. One of the newer parties, the National Alliance for Democracy, had a strong showing (2.79 percent).
Ward 58 proved to be one of the DA’s strongest showings in the metro (91.62 percent). The ANC walked away with 5.89 percent and the ACDP 1.04 percent. Similarly, the DA’s Ian Iversen won his ward with 91.18 percent of the vote in Ward 59. The ANC placed second with 6.26 percent of the vote. The ACDP again managed to get a place on the podium, with 0.91percent of the vote.
Once of the great features of local government elections in the area is the relatively healthy levels of voter turnout. In 2011, Ward 53 had a 70.49 percent voter turn-out. There are similar figures for Ward 55 (63.78 percent), Ward 57 (55 percent), Ward 58 (68.61 percent) and Ward 59 (63.55 percent).
The wards are broken down as follows:
Ward 53: Epping Industria; Maitland Garden Village; Ndabeni; Pinelands; Thornton; Maitland (south of railway line); Mowbray (east of Black River); Observatory (east of Black River); and Bokmakierie (North of N2).
Ward 55: Brooklyn; Century City Residential (Ratanga to Shayele-Corsair-St Pierres to Skyliner); Marconi Beam (Printers Park to Koeberg Road); Milnerton Coastal Development; Milnerton South (Begonia to Boundary); Paarden Eiland; Rugby; Salt River (West of Victoria); Sanddrift; Tygerhof; Waterfront; Woodstock (West of Victoria); and Ysterplaat.
Ward 57: Gardens; Mowbray; Observatory; Salt River; Table Mountain; University Estate; Vredehoek; Walmer Estate; Woodstock; and Zonnebloem.
Ward 58: Claremont (South of Keurboom Road, Belvedere Road and Alcoyne Road, west of Kromboom Parkway, north of Doncaster Road and Bell Road, East Worcester Street and Palmyra Road); Harfield Village; Kenilworth; Mowbray; Rondebosch; and Rosebank.
Ward 59: Claremont (south-east of Paradise and Protea roads, west of railway, north of Pine Street, Highwick Road and Herschel Road, east of Edinburgh Drive); Kenilworth; Newlands; Rondebosch; and Table Mountain.
