The municipal elections are done and the counting finished.
This year less South Africans made it to the voting polls, compared to the previous election. The governing party, African National Congress (ANC) achieved a majority in 161 councils, the DA in 13 and the IFP in 10.
The ANC has dipped below 50% of the vote for the first time in South Africa's democratic history.
In 2016 the ANC had nearly 54% of the national vote, the DA 27%, and the EFF 8%. In the 2021 elections, the EFF has grown while the DA has lost some ground.
Although election season was short due to the Covid-19 pandemic, political parties used all their might to try and win over voters.
We saw celebrities like Ntando Duma, Lasizwe, and Uncle Vinny show support to EFF. Makhadzi wore ANC colours in support and Peter de Villiers joined the GOOD political party.
Veteran media personality and lifestyle editor Nomakula “Kuli” Roberts (50) was also one who showed her support to the new party African Transformation Movement (ATM).
She was seen in a poster campaigning for ward 65 Tshwane Municipality councillor for ATM.
But in a few days, things went sour, and her political dream resulted in her being suspended from her lifestyle editor duties at Sunday World and the political party also quickly announced that they had dropped her following the suspension.
“Due to unforeseen and confidential circumstances, it is no longer possible to have Nomakula Roberts as a member and ward councilor candidate of the African Transformation Movement. Furthermore to the above Ms. Nomakula Roberts has to step down as both member and ward councilor candidate for ATM,” they wrote in a statement.
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Speaking to Drum, Kuli says she never had an interest in politics and she is happy to no longer be working for a newspaper that does not “respect” her political choice.
“I’m happy as a pig in s*it. It’s the best thing that’s happened to me,” Kuli says.
“I worked there for 10 years, and I left and I’ve been there again for a year and it was hell. Every single week I was crying at the job,” she says.
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Setting the record straight on her political interests, Kuli says she wasn’t running for a councillor.
“They saw me wearing the ATM t-shirt and assumed that I was running for a councillor. The constitution says I am allowed to join any party. But I was never interested in politics. I never had political ambition. Go to the IEC, my signature is not there. I was never running for councillor,” she adds.
“I hate politics, why would I want to be a ward councillor? I was exercising my political right by wearing an ATM t-shirt and my picture was used on a poster. I hate politics.”
But she says she is in a happier place and is working on something major in her career.
