The ANC's by-elections win in eight out of nine wards in the North West is a boost for a bigger contest to reclaim control of the province. (Gallo)
A sweeter victory was however celebrated in Tlokwe municipality in Potchefstroom, where the ANC proved to be well on its way to reclaiming the municipality back from the DA.
A deciding by-election for nine councillors will be held next month, but the ANC has got an upper hand and is ready to depose current Tlokwe mayor, the DA's Annette Combrink.
After Wednesday's by-elections the ruling party has got 21 councillors, 18 for the DA, Congress of the People is represented by one while the Freedom Front Plus has got two councilors.
If the party wins at least five of nine wards next month, it'll be in the majority even if the opposition can form a coalition. This is when ousted mayor Maphetle Maphetle will be reinstated in the same was he was removed, through voting Combrink out.
But what should get the ANC in the province more worried is evidence that disgruntled or expelled members of the ruling party pose more threat when they stand as independent candidates, than the opposition.
While the DA appeared to be the ANC's main opponent in Tlokwe, it was an independent candidate who proved more dangerous for the ruling party.
Kgotso Ratikoane rendered the ANC's win in Ward 9 in Tlokwe a tight one as he became the second favourite with 504 votes to the ANC's 738, a difference of 234 votes. He beat even an organised DA. The DA said it achieved "massive growth" in Tlokwe's Ward 9.
Confusion
Ratikoane is accused by the ANC of selling himself as an "ANC independent" and causing confusion among voters.
The ANC however lost Ward 4 in the village of Tsetse outside Mafikeng to another of its disgruntled members, who was apparently pushed out by fellow local community comrades who wiped his name off the party's membership records. He couldn't stand as a ruling party candidate because there was no record that he's a member in good standing.
Expelled and disgruntled members are still entrenched in voters' memories as real representatives of the ANC and many of them are listened to when they speak at ward level. This is something the ANC neglected with this by-election.
"We did not call the community to tell them Ratikoane is no longer our member," said Mahumapelo.
"People were confused, it's because voter education was not up to scratch. We'll have to work on that," said Mahumapelo who called next month's by-elections the "mother of all battles".
ANC provincial spokesperson Kenny Morolong said the party regretted "the setback suffered" in Tsetse.
"The ANC shall in the aftermath of this outcome engage the residents of this ward to reflect on this development and assure them of an unending ANC support," Morolong said.
But overall the ANC performed well across the province.
'Strength of the ANC'
This was because "the strength of the ANC is getting consolidated, people appreciate what we have done in terms of service delivery, we're slowly eradicating the negative image that the province is in disarray and it [the victory] shows that people are loyal to the ANC regardless of the problems we have been experiencing," said Mahumapelo.
More than all other leaders, Mahumapelo is under pressure to prove to ANC national bosses that the party is safe in his hands as the country prepares for next year's general election.
Discontented ANC members have often blamed him for dysfunctional municipal councils, for apparently imposing on them councillors who are allegedly corrupt and for a poorly performing provincial cabinet.
In 2009, at the height of tensions between ANC members supporting president Jacob Zuma and those supporting his predecessor Thabo Mbeki, the ANC in the North West won 72% of the provincial vote. Next year's election will however be tougher with the emergence of more new parties, particularly Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), which has set its focus on divided provinces like the North West.
The North West ANC has for long been affected by internal rifts because of factions created by power battles. These tensions escalated further after last December's ANC Mangaung national conference, which saw Luthuli House deploying national executive committee members to assist in uniting the province.