IEC warns parties against spreading unverified figures ahead of the official results announcement
Major metros are expected to take significantly longer to finalise as counting, verification and auditing processes continue.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has cautioned political parties and supporters against distributing unverified election results before the official announcement. The IEC met with the media at the Results Operation Centre in Midrand on Thursday, following a successful voting process that concluded at 9pm on Wednesday.
The commission expressed satisfaction that voters who were in line at the cut-off time were allowed to cast their ballots. Results Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo stated that approximately 23,000 result slips had been captured and that 18 municipalities were finalized by 9am on Thursday as counting proceeded nationwide. There are 66,073 result slips anticipated from local municipalities, metros, and district council votes across the 23,696 voting stations throughout the country.
Around 23,444 (35.5%) of the expected result slips have been scanned into the results system, and 22,983 (34.8%) have been captured. Out of the captured result slips, 16,791 (25.4%) have already undergone independent auditing. Mamabolo appealed to political parties, independent candidates, and their supporters to exercise patience and refrain from disseminating unverified information or disinformation about the election results.
This advice comes in the wake of the Democratic Alliance (DA) claiming a historic breakthrough among black voters, with internal projections indicating that over one million black South Africans supported the party for the first time. The DA's Federal Council first deputy chairperson, Ashor Sarupen, informed the media that the party's parallel vote tabulation system revealed its strongest black voter support in history.
The first declaration was made by the Blue Crane Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape, granting the DA an early victory and a symbolic advantage as the municipal control race intensifies. City of Johannesburg mayoral candidate Helen Zille expressed delight at leading the leaderboard from the outset. However, political analysts cautioned against overinterpreting the early figures, as results from larger and more fiercely contested municipalities remain outstanding.
Major metros are anticipated to require more time for completion due to ongoing counting, verification, and auditing processes.
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