The Eastern Cape Electoral Commission (IEC) says the process of collecting results is going smoothly despite some issues occurring on polling day.
Over 30 polling stations across the state opened with delay due to protests related to service delivery but all were operational by 2 pm.
Provincial Electoral Commissioner Kayakazi Magudumana said the polling station was relocated from Bizana Baptist Church to Guqebela North after a shooting incident nearby.
“We had three polling stations in Nelson Mandela but we had to change the counting centre to another hall due to security issues. As it started getting dark, there were shootings and the situation seemed to be worsening. We felt it would be better to change the location for the counting,” Magdumana said.
Voter voting glitches in Eastern Cape:
The announcement of election results has been dramatically delayed: so far, only 0.94% of votes cast in the national election have been counted, with results announced in 218 constituencies.
The African National Congress (ANC) is leading but with 13,383 votes, less than 50% of the vote. The Democratic Alliance (DA) is next with 7,109 votes, and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is leading with 1,947 votes. Mkhonto we Sizwe (MK) and the Patriotic Alliance (PA) are neck and neck nationally, with the PA receiving most of its votes from the Western Cape and Northern Cape, and MK in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga.
The IEC noted that most polling stations were closed late last night due to long queues of voters.
So far, just over 0.5% of votes cast in the national election have been counted, with 133 precincts reporting results, but this is a small sample and not an accurate predictor of the final outcome.
2024 Election | Vote counting in full swing
