Strange bedfellows

REGIONAL NEWS – For the second time in a row the Local Government Elections have resulted in hung councils in both Knysna and Bitou.

Despite concerted efforts to downplay the power and value of smaller independent parties, the two dominant political forces that have historically battled over power in Knysna and Bitou (ANC and DA) will need to join forces with the other parties to form what could be some awkward coalitions in order to gain a majority in either council.

The concept of a hung council at the end of an LGE is nothing new to either municipality. Including this year, the past three local elections in Bitou have wound up in a hung council, while four of the last five local elections in Knysna have resulted in a hung council, with 2011 the only exception when the DA won the majority.

However, the LGE results are landmark in that they will now see the most party-diverse councils in both municipalities since the current local governance structure was adopted prior to the 2000 LGE.

Knysna

The 2016 LGE resulted in Knysna's most diverse council yet, with five parties and one independent candidate earning seats. This year surpasses that however, with six parties now elected to council.

The ANC won the majority of the wards with six ward victories while the DA captured the remaining five. This was not without a close shave in Ward 5 though, where the Plaaslike Besorgde Inwoners (PBI) fell just 228 votes (4,48%) short of taking the ward from the DA.

Once again the PR seats are where the diversity comes in. The DA won three PR seats to bring their total to eight council seats. Despite contesting its first-ever LGE, the Knysna Independent Movement (KIM) finished with the third-most votes in Knysna (also the most by a third-placed party since the CX Forum in 2006) to earn two PR seats.

The PA became the best-supported fourth-placed party ever in Knysna and earned two PR seats for its efforts. Along with KIM they are only the second and third parties (behind CX Forum in 2000 and 2006) other than the DA or ANC to have more than one council seat in Knysna. The ANC, PBI and EFF all won one PR seat each.

Overall in Knysna, the DA won 35,44% of voter support, the ANC 33,20%, KIM 7,90%, PA 7,37%, PBI 4,61%, and the EFF 2,49%. For both the ANC and DA, the percentage voter support is the second-lowest they've ever received in Knysna. The voter turnout in Knysna was the worst it's ever been, with 23 906 people making it to the polls constituting a 55,79% voter turnout.

If one is to take anything away from the 2021 local government election results in Knysna and Bitou, it's that at a grassroots level, voters seem to be migrating further and further away from the traditional 'big parties' in favour of smaller, more local parties.

The voting station in Rheenendal in Ward 5 was a hive of activity on voting day. Photo: Blake Linder

Bitou

Bitou has never had more than three parties serve on its council, and never before has a party other than the ANC or the DA won a ward in an LGE. But this all changed this year.

The DA managed to win three wards - Wards 1, 2 and 7 - while the ANC also won three - Wards 3, 5, and 6. The Plett Democratic Congress (PDC) managed to snatch Ward 4 from the DA, marking the first time ever that anyone other than the ANC or DA has won a ward in Bitou.

The proportional representation (PR) seats are where the real party diversity comes in. The DA secured two. The Active United Front (AUF) retained their one council seat, while the ANC, the Patriotic Alliance (PA) and the Ikhwezi Political Movement (IPM) each earned one PR seat.

Overall in Bitou, the DA garnered 40,36% of the voter support, the ANC 29,09%, AUF 9,03%, PDC 6,51%, PA 5,72% and IPM 3,2%. The percentage support for the ANC is the lowest it has ever received during an LGE in Bitou. In terms of voter turnout, while population growth in recent years means the 19 902 voters making it to the polls was a record number, it constituted 64,31% of registered voters - the second-lowest percentage ever in Bitou (behind 2006).