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The Democratic Alliance in KwaZulu-Natal has successfully taken the ANC to the brink of defeat in eThekwini yesterday where ANC Mayoral Candidate, Mxolisi Kaunda, edged out DA Mayoral Candidate, Nicole Graham, by a mere 9 votes.

That the ANC, which 10 years ago stood at 62%, was reduced to cobbling together an unholy alliance with a number of parties, including giving up one of their Executive Committee seats to ABC leader, Philani Mavundla, speaks to the desperate place they find themselves in.

The DA is also very grateful to all those political parties that supported our candidate. We are under no illusion that this was also a vote against the ANC as much as it might have been a vote in support of the DA. The DA caucus also went into yesterday’s meeting without compromising on our values in our quest to have Councillor Graham elected Mayor.

We will work hard over the next coming months to build a strong, united and diverse opposition voting block to hold the ANC accountable for what they will not be able to do. This could lay the foundation for a new government in time to come.

The DA will also use its three seats in the Executive Committee to push the ANC alliance to improve service delivery, cut corruption and put the people of eThekwini first.

The DA is extremely proud that our caucus in eThekwini was able to inspire millions of people, not just in eThekwini, but around the country that change was possible. They will not let them down.

Issued by DA KZN Chairperson, Dean Macpherson, MP