Statement by Shaun August
GOOD National Organiser
Western Cape communities begin turning away from the oubase and oumissiese
The GOOD Party has secured its first seat in local government, in George, and come desperately close to flipping four of the other wards it contested in Western Cape municipal by-elections yesterday.
The party fielded candidates in six wards, four in George, one in Saldanha Bay and one in Langa.
DA percentages of the votes in George and Saldanha Bay were dramatically slashed to below 50% across the wards contested by GOOD. All that saved the DA in the wards it clung onto was the presence on the ballot of smaller parties who served to split some of the opposition votes.
“We’re ecstatic,” said GOOD Party secretary-general Brett Herron. “We are still a very new party, without the resources other parties have. What we do have are a set of values, past experience in local government leadership – and a promise to the those who support us to actually represent them by putting their interests above those of the party.
“We’re quietly building a bridge, and by next year’s local government elections many will be ready to cross it,” Herron said.
The close-run by-election results, in which most voters rejected the DA, marks a clear turnaround and signals that control of Western Cape municipalities is up for grabs next year.
We congratulate all our candidates, true sons and daughters of their communities, for the honourable and dignified campaigns they fought. In particular, we congratulate Richard Hector, our councillor representing the people of Ward 27 (Pacaltsdorp) in George.
The people of the province have woken up to the truth that neither of the old parties, which have both had opportunities to govern, have prioritised improving the quality of life of people living in poorer communities.
People motivated in the past to vote for one of the old parties in order to keep the other out are realising that the arm-wrestle for power between the privileged and corrupt holds nothing for them. It doesn’t lead to cleaner streets, less overcrowding, increased safety or better opportunities for young people. It only leads to more privilege and corruption, while maintaining inequality.
Ends…