Johannesburg – Ballots were cast by 19 274 of the 56 804 people registered to vote in municipal by-elections around the country, according to results released by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) on Thursday.

A total of 194 spoilt ballots were recorded across the 11 wards in the by-elections on Wednesday.

The highest number of voters was in the eThekwini (Durban) area, where 4 198 (23.98%) of the 17 504 registered voters made their mark.

In Tlokwe’s Ward 26, ballots were cast by 2 374 (41.82%) of 5 677 registered voters; in Mbhashe, in the Eastern Cape, 2 082 (52.67%) people voted of 3 953 registered voters; and in Drakenstein (Paarl), 1 799 (49.33%) people voted of 3 647 registered voters.

In Mossel Bay 1 615 (44.91%) people voted of 3 596 registered voters; in Ward 18 in Tlokwe, 1 452 (44.66%) people voted of 3 251 registered voters and in Carletonville 1 452 (35.63%) people voted of 4 075 registered voters.

The lowest number of people to vote was in Ward 6 in Tlokwe, where ballots were cast by 1 408 (33.10%) of the 4 254 people registered to vote, and in Giyani, with 1 451 (41.17%) votes by 3 524 registered voters.

– SAPA