South Africa: Huge Gains for EFF As ANC Loses Ground in Clocolan By-Election

8 August 2024
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
By Wayne Sussman

The EFF produced what is arguably its best electoral figures for 2024 when it shocked the ANC and a local party, the Setsoto Service Delivery Forum (SSDF) in a by-election in a township in the small Free State town of Clocolan. The ward was previously held by the SSDF and the ANC were heavily favoured to take the seat from the SSDF in this by-election.

Ward 8 (Hlohlolwane Ext 6 Clocolan) Setsoto, Thabo Mofutsanyane EFF 55% (15%) ANC 32% (38%) Setsoto Service Delivery Forum 9% (38%) IFP 2% (3%) ACT 1% COPE <1%

The setting: Hlohlowane is a township just north of the town of Clocolan. Clocolan is close to the Lesotho border and near the towns of Ficksburg and Marquard. The area is known for its cherry, asparagus and maize farms. The seat of Setsoto is Ficksburg. Other towns in the municipality include Senekal.

The 2021 Local Government Election

Local party, the Setsoto Service Delivery Forum (SSDF) shocked the ANC in a traditional ANC seat by pipping the ANC by nine votes. The SSDF bested the ANC by 26 votes on the proportional representation (PR) ballot.

advertisementDon't want to see this? Remove adsThe ANC won two of the three voting districts but the margins were very close. The SSDF won the ward by building a 38-vote buffer at the Mpokoane Creche voting district, the most populous district in the ward.

The ANC won 17 out of the 33 seats to retain control of Setsoto. The SSDF became the official opposition with eight seats. The EFF won three seats while the DA and Freedom...

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