Durban — The voters have spoken.
President Cyril Ramaphosa may have promised South Africans a “new dawn” but it was his nemesis Jacob Zuma whose fledgling uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) made it happen by obliterating the ruling party in KwaZulu-Natal.
With all the counts tallied by 5pm last night (Saturday), the Electoral Commission of SA’s (IEC’s) leaderboard showed that 58.61% of the province’s registered voters had turned up to have their say, and most of them favoured the MKP.
The ANC’s seemingly unbreakable dominance in the province was shattered with the MKP amassing 45.9% of the support with a staggering 1 614 188 votes.
The ANC was left toothless, lagging far behind with only 17.63% of the support which translated to 619 531 votes. The IFP attracted 16.29% of the ballots.
The DA, which ran a massive campaign in KZN, and even brought in the big guns from the Western Cape, only picked up 13.64% of the ballots. The EFF edged into fifth place with a paltry 2.56%. Overall, 98.37% of the ballots were valid with a minimal 1.63% deemed spoilt votes.
The IEC’s Ntombifuthi Masinga said the top five parties were guaranteed seats in the legislature as each seat amounted to 43 000 votes.
Countrywide, the ANC dipped below 50% as predicted. By 7pm last night (Saturday) with just a few results outstanding the ANC was on 40.17%, the DA on 21.82%, and the MKP’s unexpected dominance prevailed, coming in third with 14.59%. The EFF came fourth nationally with 9.49%, with the IFP and PA completing the top six parties.
However, as the deadline for objections was extended by another 24 hours until 6pm last night (Saturday), concerns were raised over the IEC’s readiness for this election.
During the voting process complaints surfaced countrywide about the long queues, issues with scanning devices and other technical glitches. But the IEC said it would not affect the outcome of the elections.
The Budget Justice Coalition representing several civil society organisations said that delays and network issues marred the 2024 national elections, causing frustration among voters who were unable to exercise their right to vote.
“The long queues and technical glitches were so severe that some voters gave up, unable to make their mark,” the Budget Justice Coalition said in a statement.
“This situation has raised serious concerns about the impact of underfunding on the IEC. The National Treasury, in response to criticism, has claimed that the IEC was adequately funded following the reversal of proposed budget cuts for the 2023/2024 financial year,” the Budget Justice Coalition said.
The observer mission, which was made up of the KwaZulu-Natal Christian Council (KZNCC), the South African Council of Churches and Defend Our Democracy, deployed 5 000 election observers and mediators in nine provinces.
The KZNCC’s Bishop Nathi Zondi, who was part of the observer mission, noted that while the elections had gone well, there had been instances of exclusion of some voters, a matter which he insisted could have been avoided.
“The IEC should have done more to educate voters about where they could and could not vote in order to avoid having anyone excluded from the process,” he told the Sunday Tribune.
Sunday Tribune