DA shows growth in by-elections
The results of the by-elections held across South Africa yesterday show that the DA continues to win new support from South Africans who have not previously voted for the DA. The DA has experienced significant growth in every by-election we have contested in 2013.
The DA retained wards in eThekwini and in Mossel Bay, and grew our support in Drakenstein, Merafong and Tlokwe. The results in Merafong and Tlokwe are particularly noteworthy.
In Merafong the DA received 24.37% of the vote, up from 10.63% in 2011. This growth is good news for the DA's campaign to win Gauteng in 2014. More and more voters in Gauteng are choosing the DA to create jobs, stamp out corruption and deliver services to all..
In the hotly contested Tlokwe by-election, the significant increase in the DA's support is an endorsement of our performance in government there over the last 10 weeks. The DA won 35.57% of the vote, achieved despite the ANC's intensive vote-buying and political intimidation campaign.
We look forward to the upcoming by-elections in Tlokwe, where residents will have a further opportunity to extend the term of the DA's government there by voting to keep us in government.