SACP wins Steve Tshwete ward after 966 votes need a coin toss
MIDDELBURG — A coin toss has decided the winner of Ward 17 in Steve Tshwete Local Municipality after the ANC and SACP finished level on 966 votes each, the toss awarded the ward to the SACP, while an updated dashboard using IEC data identifies Marumo Jim Sekgwele as the elected councillor.
The result followed a contest in which neither of the two leading candidates could secure even a one-vote advantage. With all three voting districts reporting, the ward recorded 2,976 valid ballots, giving the ANC and SACP approximately 32.5% each. The EFF followed with 318 votes and the DA with 296.
Although deciding a council seat with a coin may seem surprising after months of campaigning, South African municipal electoral law provides for a random tie-break. Schedule 1, item 8 of the Municipal Structures Act states that the candidate receiving the most votes wins a ward, but where candidates receive an equal number, the result must be determined by lot. A coin toss is a way of implementing that provision.
The procedure resolves a tie left by the ballots rather than replacing the voting process. In Ward 17, both leading candidates had the same claim based on their vote totals, and the statutory tie-break settled which one would occupy the ward seat. It did not determine control of the entire municipality or replace the separate proportional representation calculation.
For the SACP, the outcome adds a ward representative to its municipal presence. For residents, the task now shifts from the unusual manner of the victory to the councillor’s work: representing the whole ward, including people who supported other candidates, and pursuing its priorities within the council.
Readers can follow TownPress’s live dashboard across the website, or visit our Election Results and Results Breakdown pages for the latest available tallies and council information.
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