The African National Congress (ANC) in the Western Cape was pleased that it had retained Ward 93 through a majority vote for its candidate Thando Pimpi in a by-election sparked by the resignation of its previous councillor, a party spokesperson said on Thursday.

"This overwhelming victory comes at a time when we are going towards the (ANC) elective conference in December 2017," said Khaya Yozi, spokesperson for the Dullah Omar region, which covers the Cape metropole.

The victory of the previous ward councillor, Ntombebala Mquqwana, in the August 2016 local government elections was accompanied by allegations that the community-selected candidate, Pimpi, was allegedly replaced with Mquqwana on candidate lists, GroundUp reported at the time.

In the by-election held on Wednesday, the Electoral Commission of South Africa said the ANC retained the seat with a reduced margin of 69.98% of the votes cast compared to 82.27% in the 2016 municipal elections.  Of the 16 917 registered voters in the ward, 5 875 votes were cast and 5 826 were valid. Voter turnout was 34.73%.The ward includes Town Two, Makhaza, New Green Point, BM section, and Site B – a mixture of shacks and brick houses.

Pimpi garnered 4 077 votes.

The other candidates were:

Independent candidate Butitjie Leo Mbobi – 849 votes; Mthetheleli Tabana of the ACDP – six votes; Kanyiswa Yakobi of the African Restoration Party – 142 votes; Lunga Victor Xhashe of the DA – 387 votes; and Tshepo Khoaeane of the EFF – 365 votes. Yozi congratulated Pimpi and the voting public. He said he regarded the victory as a sign that the ANC was gaining ground in its efforts against the DA in the province and across the country.