IEC Chief Electoral Officer Si Mamabolo. (Jan Gerber/News24)
- Voting ended early on Thursday morning at polling stations in Pretoria.
- By 3 p.m., most polling stations had finished counting.
- Counting is the first step, then you need to get the results, which includes the audit process.
The final round of voting for the 2024 elections took place at polling stations in Tshwane in the early hours of the morning, after voter queues snaked along city blocks until late on Wednesday night, the South African Electoral Commission (IEC) announced on Thursday afternoon.
IEC Chief Electoral Officer Si Mamabolo said the commission continued working to ensure that all voters who were in the queue by 9pm had cast their votes.
The first results were announced after midnight, but most counting was completed by 3pm, except at a few polling stations.
“The process of compiling the results includes ensuring the accuracy and verification of the results.
“This process involves scanning each result slip to create an image of the results, double-blind capturing of each result slip and having an independent auditor audit each result slip.
“The results system has been externally audited and stakeholders have had the opportunity to audit it,” Mamabolo said.
By 4 p.m., results had been finalized in 22.6 percent of the 23,292 polling precincts, meaning 2.3 million votes had been cast.
“The results slips are scanned into an image by the auditors, ingested into the results system, audited by an independent auditor and only when they pass the exception parameters in the automated results system are they considered complete,” Mamabolo said.
Read | 2024 Election: Turnout exceeds 2019 forecast of 66% as queues and troubles do not deter voters
At this point, the least populous province, the Northern Cape, led the way with a catch rate of 63%. Gauteng 28%, Limpopo 26%, North West 36%, Northern Cape 63%, Free State 56%, KwaZulu-Natal 23%, Mpumalanga 42%, Eastern Cape 58% and Western Cape 57%.
Mamabolo thanked the “real heroes” of the election, saying:
They are the South Africans who queued to vote and the electoral staff who worked tirelessly to process the votes. The dedication and perseverance shown by voters and electoral staff is a testament to their commitment to our electoral democracy.
IEC chairperson Mosotho Moyepiya would not speculate on voter turnout in this year's elections.
Moepiya said objections were raised throughout Wednesday but were addressed by chairpersons.
The IEC received appeals that did not result in a satisfactory resolution of the complaint, but the number was “small,” he added.