Several political parties have filed complaints with the South African Electoral Commission alleging irregularities in the vote counting process. (Gallo Images/Sydney Seshibedi)
- Several political parties have filed complaints with the South African Electoral Commission about alleged irregularities in the vote counting process.
- Each party claims some of their votes were not counted correctly.
- They are calling for a recount, which is expected to reach 98.77% by midday Saturday.
Several political parties have filed a challenge with the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), arguing that the results displayed in Results Centres (ROCs) across the country do not reflect how South Africans voted in the 2024 general election.
Stakeholders are gathering at the National ROC in Midrand, Johannesburg, to monitor the results.
Their leaders, who are seeking a recount, claim that not all their votes were counted correctly in their precincts because the numbers they received from party agents produced different results.
ACDP, FF Plus, UDM and ACT are some of the victims' groups that spoke to News24.
UDM deputy leader Nqabayomzi Kwankwa said the ANC's approval rating, which stood at 40.42% nationally as of midday on Saturday, should have been lower.
He added:
The IEC stole our votes… The counting process produces one set of results from tally slips signed by political party agents, but there is a huge difference between what is stated on the tally slips and what the IEC has tallied on its system, which affects all political parties.
He said UDM secretary-general Yongama Jigebe and other “sister opposition” parties had objected on Friday night.
“We are part of a political party that has called for a recount in the Western Cape and Nelson Mandela Bay region because there were some irregularities.”
“A close friend of mine who was in Tsakane said that out of 378 votes counted, the voting system showed 78,” Kwankwa alleged.
He also questioned the audit process.
“Whoever has the results can enter something completely different. Who is auditing? What are the auditors auditing? There is no audit process here. It is clear that the election has been stolen by them being the only ones to know the results. Political parties have actually failed in that they cannot monitor the collection process where manipulation takes place,” Kwankwa alleged.
ATM chairman Vuyo Zungula echoed Kwankwa’s views.
“We have informed the IEC about all the errors in the results that were pointed out by our party's representatives and we hope that they will resolve the matter.”
“We definitely got more votes. In one constituency in Ekurhuleni we got 57 votes but the system recorded only 19. This shows that the number on the system is significantly lower than the actual number of votes we got. If you take this figure alone and take into account other examples and other issues, our vote tally should be significantly higher than that,” Zungula said.
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“They say in politics cowboys don't cry but we are not happy with the result. There were too many mistakes. Thousands and thousands of people have been disenfranchised. It is unacceptable for the electoral commission to say, 'but that's the system',” added FF+ leader Peter Gronewald.
“This is not the first time we've had these problems. We had the exact same problem in 2021. I'm not happy. But it's not something the Cowboys should cry about right now. We're not going to cry.”
“At a time when elections are so sensitive, steps should have been taken to prevent these little things from happening.”
Groenewald said the party had lodged complaints in the Western Cape.
He noted that if the IEC wanted to run the elections professionally, there should not be any technical issues.
“And this time, we can't just blame it on power supply restrictions,” he said.
IFP's Narend Singh said his party had also filed several complaints.
“This is because some sheets were not properly imported from paper to the computer. However, we do not believe it is a significant issue and will not affect the outcome,” Singh said.
Former ANC secretary-general and current ACT chairperson Ace Magashule was seen privately speaking with IEC representative Si Mamabolo and claimed the election was “rigged”.
Magashule called for a recount on Saturday in the Free State province, saying ACT was set to win the election. He said he was considering legal action.
“A recount will reveal fraud. That is why we are calling for a recount and the IEC will be cautious. Allowing a recount will create complications which will affect the integrity of the election. We want a free and fair election.”
“We have the evidence, we have the footage, we have the results documents, we are speaking the facts,” Magashule said, without revealing what evidence he claimed to have.
Briefing the media on Saturday afternoon, IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepiya said the commission was pleased that the results system worked and maintained its credibility throughout the process.
He said the IEC had agreed to a request to extend the filing of objections until 6pm on Saturday, adding that all concerns raised would be examined and taken into consideration in the process of ensuring the fairness of the elections.
??IMPORTANT UPDATE! The deadline for submitting objections and appeals to the 2024 national and provincial elections has been extended until 6pm tonight. Objections should be submitted by email to S55objections@elections.org.za or submitted directly to the National Results Operation's Legal Services. pic.twitter.com/sri80FFkz1
— IEC South Africa (@IECSouthAfrica) June 1, 2024
Moepiya said the auditors were assisting the IEC to ensure that fair and free elections were conducted.
