Hill-Lewis casts vote in Edgemead, warns polls are tight
Greeting family members and supporters outside the gates of the polling station, Hill-Lewis made a last-ditch appeal to the city’s residents to vote for his party.
Lindsay Dentlinger
Geordin Hill-Lewis voting at Edgemead Primary voting station. Picture: Jared Moorgas/EWN
Jared Moorgas/EWN
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis believes his track record in the metro should get voters out to give him another run as the city’s first citizen.
As the only metro in the country that the Democratic Alliance (DA) governs outright, Hill-Lewis, as his party’s federal leader, believes over the past 20 years his party has laid down a blueprint that can be replicated in other metros, particularly in Gauteng and the Eastern Cape.
Hill-Lewis cast his vote at Edgemead Primary School in the middle-class suburb where he grew up.
During the campaign, Geordin Hill-Lewis has been heavily criticised by opposition and minority rights parties, who say he’s neglected the city’s disadvantaged communities, particularly on issues such as housing, bulk infrastructure development and social amenities.
Joining the queue to vote in the neighbourhood where he grew up, Hill-Lewis dismissed much of the flak.
“I always take on board serious, well-meaning criticism that means the best for the people of Cape Town, but I’m afraid most of it is just politicking,” he said.
Greeting family members and supporters outside the gates of the polling station, Hill-Lewis made a last-ditch appeal to the city’s residents to vote for his party.
“It is absolutely not a sure thing. It’s tight in the polls, and so no voter should take for granted the progress we’ve made here these past five years,” he said.
Voters in the queue with Hill-Lewis said safety in their neighbourhood is one of their top priorities in determining who to vote for.