By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) chief electoral officer, Sy Mamabolo acknowledged “glitches” in voting procedures, particularly in the morning, but essentially attributed long queues to high voter turnout.
Mamabolo was responding to concerns that Wednesday’s elections could spill over to Thursday.
The Electoral Commission projected a voter turnout of 66% or more for the election.
The voter turnout, which would be about 20% higher than that of the 2021 local government poll, may reflect anxiety among South Africans as they cast their ballots in a critical vote that could steer the country into the unpredictable waters of coalition government.
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema had also accused the IEC of deliberate delays that led to the development of long queues, with some people complaining about being on the line for eight hours and more.
“There are no deliberate delays on the part of the commission; we want to assist everybody who is in the queue and take their ballot. We have no plan for the second day of voting; we have never had such a plan, so voting will conclude until everybody who is in the queue is given an opportunity, “he said.
Political party leaders had started to gather at the Results Operations Centre (ROC) in Midrand, where a leader board was set up to show the results as they trickled in.
Mamabolo said it was not clear which provinces would be the first to send the results, but he said the leader board would start reflecting results as soon as audited votes start coming in.
He said in past elections, the results would come in at around 1am but because of the multiple ballots, it would take longer this year.
“Once the captured results have been audited and there are no exceptions related to the result, you will begin to see the votes reflecting on the leaderboard, “he said.
After voting, President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is seeking re-election, said: “I have no doubt whatsoever in my heart of hearts that the people will once again invest confidence in the ANC to continue leading this country.”
But John Steenhuisen, leader of the biggest opposition party the Democratic Alliance (DA), predicted no single party would win an outright majority, creating an opening for his party and an alliance of smaller outfits.
“For the first time in 30 years, there’s an opportunity for change in South Africa,” he said after voting in his home city, Durban.
Voters will choose the 400 members of the National Assembly who in the coming weeks will then select a president from among their number.
For the first time since the advent of democracy in 1994, the ANC could be forced to negotiate a coalition to remain in government.
Under the leadership of the late Nelson Mandela, the ANC won freedom for black South Africans after decades of apartheid, then lifted millions out of poverty by creating a broad social welfare system.
But many in the nation of 62 million are fed up with high unemployment, currently at 32.9 per cent, rampant crime, corruption scandals, and regular power cuts and water shortages.
The economy grew a meagre 0.6 per cent in 2023, and polls suggest the ANC could win as little as 40 per cent of the vote, down from 57 per cent in 2019.
If the ANC wins fewer than 201 seats, Ramaphosa would have to negotiate with opposition parties and independent MPs to secure a majority.
Meanwhile the head of the election observer mission, Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa, Goodluck Jonathan, has expressed concern over the number of people who could not vote at various voting stations.
This was due to their names not being registered at their voting stations.
The former Nigerian president was in Alexandra on Wednesday to observe the elections.
“The Section 24A is a major concern and will affect many voters,” he said.
“The awareness was not enough. In some places, they are allowing them to vote, but in some places, they don’t. The practice is not uniform, and for elections, we want everybody to vote.
“But let me congratulate the citizens of South Africa for these seventh elections, after the democratic elections of 1994, 30 years of solid democracy. In some other African countries, you have democratic parties for 5 to 10 years. Then, the military takes over.
“But here, since the collapse of apartheid, 30 solid years. So we must commend South Africa, no matter the challenges they are moving forward.
“The election process is going very well. The worry is that we still have long queues, and I am worried that if it continues this way, this could go on until 1 am, and people will be tired, but overall, the elections are going on smoothly.”