The Electoral Commission (IEC) in the Eastern Cape states that its results capturing process is proceeding smoothly despite some issues on voting day.
Over 30 voting stations in the province opened late due to service delivery-related protests, but all were operational by 2pm.
Provincial Electoral Officer Khayakazi Magudumana says they relocated from Bizana Baptist Church voting station to the northern areas of Gqeberha because of nearby shooting incidents.
Magudumana says, “We had three stations in Nelson Mandela where we had to change the counting station to be in a different hall due to security issues. There were shooting incidents happening as it started getting dark, and the situation seemed to be escalating. We felt it was better to relocate for counting purposes.”
Voters roll glitches in Eastern Cape:
The announcement of election results has slowed dramatically. Currently, 0.94 percent of ballots cast in the national elections have been counted, with 218 voting districts declaring their results.
The African National Congress (ANC) is leading but has dipped below 50% with 13,383 votes. The Democratic Alliance (DA) follows with 7,109 votes, ahead of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) with 1,947 votes. The uMkhonto we Sizwe party (MK) and the Patriotic Alliance (PA) are closely matched nationally, with PA’s votes primarily from the Western Cape and Northern Cape, and MK’s support in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga.
The IEC noted that most voting stations closed late last night due to long queues of voters.
Currently, just over half a percent of ballots cast in the national elections have been counted, with 133 voting districts declaring their results, representing a small sample and not an accurate prediction of the final results.
2024 Elections | Voting counting in full swing
