ON April 10, the residents of Ward 2 in the Beyers Naude Local Municipality, came out to vote in a by-election.
The by-election was held due to the resignation of Belinda Botha.
Ward 2 covers the areas of Nieu-Bethesda and the Horse Shoe area.
The voting districts were in the Te Watersaal and the Nieu-Bethesda Community Hall.
The ward, which was won by the DA in the 2016 Local Government Elections, was contested by Ricardo Smith of the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Petronella April of the African National Congress (ANC).
The DA won the election by 1 082 votes (78.5%) and the ANC received 500 votes (21.4%).
The DA’s campaign manager, Samantha Graham, was very happy when the results came out and Smith, in his victory speech, thanked all the residents of Ward 2 together with the MPLs and other very important role players, as well as the volunteers that helped him during his campaign.
Smith also thanked his supporters, especially the farmers and farm workers who had to travel far to vote.
He also made mention of the positive attitudes of both parties in making sure a free and fair election took place.
He said his vision was to deliver better services and also to establish a neighbourhood watch.
