South Africa’s much-anticipated election results began to emerge as the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) released the first batch shortly after midnight. These initial figures came from the Mbizana Baptist Church polling station in the Madikizela Mandela Municipality, located in the Eastern Cape province.
The general and provincial elections of 2024, marked by unusually long lines at polling stations, raised eyebrows among political parties, observers, and analysts questioning the IEC’s capacity to efficiently tally the votes.
In this preliminary count from a modestly sized municipality, the African National Congress (ANC) has taken an early advantage in the Eastern Cape, securing the majority of the 163 valid votes counted.
Despite experiencing certain technical difficulties at some voting stations nationwide, IEC Chairperson Mosotho Moepya announced the provisional results that placed the leading political parties as follows:
– ANC (African National Congress): 99 votes
– EFF (Economic Freedom Fighters): 29 votes
– MK (presumably a local party or an abbreviation not expanded upon): 17 votes
– UDM (United Democratic Movement): 8 votes
– DA (Democratic Alliance): 5 votes
These initial findings present a snapshot of the broader electoral situation, with more comprehensive results anticipated as counts continue to progress across the country’s varied constituencies.
