The Independent Electoral Commission says over 89% of all voting districts have been declared and the outstanding votes are currently being verified. The Northern Cape stands at 99.8% of being completed, the first province that will be finalised. The IEC is briefing the media at the Results Centre in Pretoria. 177 municipalities out of 257 have been finalised. The Commission says it will not go to bed before all results have been completed.
The Independent Electoral Commission says looking back at the 2021 Local Government Elections, it is not advisable to deliver an election in only 42 days. Briefing the media at the Results Centre in Pretoria, the Commission said such a short preparation period has opened it up for many challenges including technical difficulties and disputes. Usually, the IEC has more than 80 days to prepare for the vote. The Commission says after the results have been announced it will take stock of lessons learnt.
It’s the final countdown with only 16% of voting districts having to be verified. Earlier the Independent Electoral Commission said that all vote counting had been concluded and that the verification process was under way. The ANC has 45.88%, the DA 21.59%, and EFF 10.38%. There are currently 52 hung councils that will require coalitions for those municipalities to run. The majority of parties, including the ANC, DA, EFF and VF Plus have declared themselves open for meaningful coalitions.
The ANC is leading in most provinces with 79% of voting districts declared. At national level, the ruling party is at 45.95%, the DA at 21.73% and the EFF at 10.32%. The ANC has received more than 50% vote in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo, Northern Cape, Mpumalanga and North West. In the Western Cape, the DA has clinched 54.76% of the vote with 79% of the vote declared.
The ANC says it has received the message loud and clear from the voters in this year’s local government elections. Briefing the media at the Elections Result Centre in Pretoria, acting General Secretary Jessie Duarte says the drop in overall support is a wake-up call that the ruling party is taking very seriously. She says while issues such as COVID-19, the elections being on a Monday and load shedding have contributed to a lower turnout at the polls, the ANC is focused on improving basic services, ensuring safer communities and economic opportunities going forward.
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ELECTIONS