The KwaZulu-Natal Electoral Commission is investigating how a ballot box went missing in Umhlathuze. The commission said the missing ballot box fell from the back of the car of the Umhlathuze district administrator.
The votes have been counted.
IEC provincial electoral officer Ntombihti Masinga said by 5pm this evening more than 75 per cent of the votes in KwaZulu-Natal had been finalised and audited.
“The ballot box fell off the truck and another driver who was driving behind the area manager warned him that something had fallen from the truck. The area manager made a U-turn but unfortunately the ballot box had disappeared by the time he reached the scene. However, it did not affect the results at that polling station as political parties had already declared the results because we had asked them to take a photograph.”
2024 Elections | Still no sign of Umhlatuze ballot boxes missing:
eThekwini
Election results for eThekwini municipality in KwaZulu-Natal were the last to be known on Friday night due to the high number of polling stations in the city.
On the second day of vote counting in the country's seventh general election, Umkhonto we'Sizwe Party maintained a solid lead over the IFP and the ANC.
“I'm ready to rule.”
The MK party says it is ready to govern KwaZulu-Natal, where its initial front-runner candidate maintained a commanding lead at the top of the poll results.
MK party elections chief in the province Musa Mkhize said: “We have risen to the top and are ready to govern the country, particularly KwaZulu-Natal. We must remember that Umkhonto Sizwe is not just in South Africa but overseas too. It belongs to all South Africans who are eligible to vote and who voted for Umkhonto weSizwe. People are voting for Umkhonto weSizwe not for any particular individual but for themselves. We are confident that we can get back what we promised, what we fought for and what we have lost over the last 30 years.”
Political analyst Professor Bheki Mngomezulu says the ANC is unlikely to win a two-thirds majority.
“If you look at the 2016, 2019 and 2021 elections, you come to the conclusion that the ANC is in decline. The ANC retained the province but its majority has declined. So, given the rise of the MK party and of course the multi-party system led by the DA and the upward trend of the IFP, I don't see the ANC reaching the 50 plus one threshold.”
Of the more than 4,900 polling stations in the province, 864 are in eThekwini Municipality. The city is at the tail end of the results due to the sheer number of voters from this area.
“Of the 4,974 polling stations in the province, eThekwini accounts for 864. So, as expected, eThekwini will be the last to finalise its results. However, we have also strengthened our team and the two teams will be working together to meet the set deadline,” IEC provincial electoral officer Ntombihti Masinga said.
Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, who visited the KwaZulu-Natal Election Results Centre, called for political tolerance from political parties, particularly party leaders, when the results are announced.
Free and fair elections
Meanwhile, according to the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), 92% of voters felt the 2024 elections were free and fair.
The HSRC said trust in the electoral commission was high and that almost all voters felt it was safe to cast their secret ballot. The commission conducted election satisfaction surveys at 300 polling stations across nine states during the general election.
2024 Election | HSRC Election Satisfaction Survey Results:
-Reporting by Minosni Pillay and Fanele Mhlongo
