Youth to be the focus

The focus of these initiatives will be on the youth in the North West province, according to the South African Government News Agency.

“Through the National Youth Service Fund, we will implement training and skills development opportunities that will benefit over 1 200 young people at the Departments of Public Works and Roads, Social Development, Human Settlement as well as Arts, Culture Sports, and Recreation,” said Lazarus Mokgosi during the Provincial Annual Media Day launch in Mahikeng, North West.

The North West administration is working on a programme to assist in skills development for young people. It will also resuscitate the Victor Thebe Sifora Provincial Bursary Scheme. This grant will fund at least 100 students for the 2025 academic year, according to Mokgosi.

Media Day

Premier Lazarus Mokgosi announced that an annual Media Day will follow the Premier’s State of the Province Address. The aim of this is to communicate developmental initiatives of the administration as well as interventions on various socio-economic challenges such as unemployment, poverty, and income inequalities affecting communities.

Mokgosi stated that “the media plays an important role in keeping our communities abreast of key government programmes that are primarily aimed at changing the lives of our people for the better”.

“We affirm and fully support the independence of the media to hold government accountable as enshrined in our Constitution.”
North West Premier Lazarus Mokgosi

Other challenges in the North West province

Premier Mokgosi furthermore acknowledged that the North West province was facing many challenges. He stated that they would work hard to resolve these swiftly.

Service delivery is a main area of concern. In addressing the issue of service delivery concerns, Mokgosi stated that the administration aims to create economic opportunities for citizens of the North West province while addressing these concerns.

Various projects in the North West will create these opportunities. Firstly, investment commitments already secured, will create more than 5 000 jobs. Secondly, three planned infrastructure projects are expected to create over 60 000 job opportunities, especially for the youth and women. These three projects will pertain to water, sanitation, and roads.

What is your opinion on these promises?

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“Earlier this week, Michelle and I called our friend Kamala Harris. We told her we think she’ll make a fantastic President of the United States, and that she has our full support,” Obama said on social media platform X.

“At this critical moment for our country, we’re going to do everything we can to make sure she wins in November. We hope you’ll join us.”

Biden bows out

The influential former leader was one of the last Democratic heavy hitters to offer his endorsement, with Harris having already received the backing of President Joe Biden on Sunday to take his place on the ballot.

Obama’s backing will add to the growing momentum behind Harris’ campaign, which has enjoyed a groundswell of support since she announced her 11th-hour candidacy.

Harris, 59, jumped into the election after weeks of turmoil over 81-year-old Biden, who bowed out after a dismal debate performance against Trump accelerated concerns over his mental capacity and persistently low polling numbers.

The country’s first woman vice president — who is seeking to make history again in November — launched a blistering attack on Trump and his “extremist” Republicans as she addressed teachers Thursday.

The momentum appeared to catch Trump off guard, with the bombastic Republican refusing to schedule a debate with Harris, saying Thursday night it would be “inappropriate” until she was officially named the Democratic nominee.

“Democrats very well could still change their minds,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement.

Harris, a former top prosecutor for California, chided her opponent on X, saying: “What happened to ‘any time, any place?'”

She had previously said of a potential September 10 face-off: “I’m ready. So let’s go.”

Union endorsement for Kamala Harris

The first union to endorse Harris – the American Federation of Teachers – applauded at their convention in Houston as Harris warned that the country was witnessing a “full-on attack” by Trump’s Republicans on “hard-won, hard-fought freedoms.”

“While you teach students about democracy and representative government, extremists attack the sacred freedom to vote. While you try to create safe and welcoming places where our children can learn, extremists attack our freedom to live safe from gun violence,” she said.

The speech came with Harris facing increasingly extreme rhetoric from Trump, who on Wednesday called her a “radical left lunatic” and claimed – entirely falsely – that she was in favour of the “execution” of newborn babies.

Trump, who at 78 is the oldest presidential nominee in US history, has promised he will “not give one penny” of federal funds to schools with vaccine mandates. Every public school in America has such mandates.

© Agence France-Presse

As previously reported, the ANC has always polled above 50% since 1994, however, support for the party plummeted to just 40% nationally and also dropped to just 36% in Gauteng.

WHY IS MALATJI BLAMING MAILE FOR ANC’S PERFORMANCE IN GAUTENG?

Addressing a community gathering in Bekkersdal, Gauteng, at the weekend, Malatji said there are people who were rewarded with positions in the executives yet aren’t known by any branches, and they fail to do their work.  

Malatji said voters punished the ANC in Gauteng because employees failed to service the people.  

Malatji said there was no election campaign in Gauteng. Apart from premier Panyaza Lesufi, who was up and down, it was just people smoking cigars and drinking champagne with slay queens. 

“The ANC in the province was nowhere during the elections campaign, they were sitting smoking cigars at the stadium, they were sitting in the suites drinking champagne with their slay queens,” Malatji said.

“There are untouchable and golden boys who are always in the executive but have no constituency. Anyone who wants to become an MEC must first fill a stadium, and then we will take it from there,” he added. 

Malatji said people are tired of leaders who are celebrities; they want leaders they can access and must be on the ground every day. 

According to reports, Collen Malatji wanted the party’s youth league convenor to join the provincial government; however, he was overlooked. 

Ahead of the elections, the youth league advocated for young people to be given senior positions. However, Lesufi deployed the same MECs he had in the sixth administration.

In addition, Malatji took issue with the fact that the Johannesburg region is the most represented in the Gauteng cabinet and said other regions are treated as stepchildren.

In response to Matjila’s scathing attack, Maile wrote on X, “The sugar daddies send their boyfriends to insult us because they are cowards. I dare them to show their faces.”

THE GOVERNMENT OF PROVINCIAL UNITY

As no political party achieved an outright majority in the province, the ANC formed a Government of Provincial Unity (GPU) with other political parties.

Despite criticism, the party even went as far as negotiating with the Democratic Alliance (DA) but but there was a breakdown in negotiations.

DA federal council chairperson Helen Zille confirmed that they will be occupying opposition benches in the Gauteng legislature after talks with the ANC in Gauteng yielded no favourable results in the battle for positions in Lesufi’s executive council.

The ANC won 28 seats in the Gauteng legislature while the DA garnered 22 out of a total 80 seats and because of this split, the DA scoffed at what it saw as a paltry offer of two MEC positions from the ANC.

Reacting to the announcement, the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) said Lesufi’s appointment of a provincial Cabinet, which does not broadly reflect the composition of the Government of National Unity (GNU) at the national level, was unacceptable.

FF Plus member of the Gauteng legislature advocate Anton Alberts said a golden opportunity to create a more representative and equitable government for Gauteng has been missed.

Alberts further emphasised that his party did not request any executive positions. However, a well-composed government of provincial unity would have been able to adopt FF Plus’s sensible policies and implement them for Gauteng’s benefit.

“Lesufi will have an uphill battle to implement decisions, seeing as he is ruling with a significant minority. Lesufi will struggle to get the 50% + 1 vote needed in the legislature without the support of the FF Plus and the DA.

“If Lesufi were to ask the EFF and the MK for their support, he would have to make questionable compromises which may be detrimental to Gauteng because of those parties’ radical policies,” Alberts said.

IS COLLEN MALATJI’S ATTACK ON LEBOGANG MAILE JUSTIFIED?

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In an official statement by the party’s president Bantu Holomisa, the UDM confirmed Kwankwa was kidnapped on his way to Cape Town Airport en route to the Presidential inauguration.

UDM PAYS UP TO RESCUE DEPUTY LEADER

The perpetrators demanded a ransom of R10,000 for his safe return, which the party immediately paid.

Kwankwa was safely released, albeit shaken and traumatised, but all his belongings, including his vehicle, were stolen. The car was later found abandoned.

Kwankwa is in contact with the police and his family has been informed of what has occurred.

“The UDM is saddened by this horrific event, but is very grateful for his safe return. We wish Tshawe well on his road to recovery from this dastardly incident,” Holomisa said in his statement.

Holomisa also took to social media to express his gratitude and relieve that Kwankwa was found safe and sound.

“We are relieved that UDM Deputy President Nqabayomzi Kwankwa is safe after being kidnapped and robbed today. We wish him well in recovering from this ordeal,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

United Democratic Movement President

The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa.

The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the South African National Defence Force.

The president is elected by the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, and is usually the leader of the largest party, which has been the African National Congress (ANC) since the first multiracial election was held on 27 April 1994.

The constitution limits the president’s time in office to two five-year terms.

PRESIDENTS OF SOUTH AFRICA SINCE 1994

1. NELSON MANDELA

Took office: 10 May 1994

Left office: 14 June 1999

Time in office: 5 years, 35 days

The first post-apartheid president of South Africa. The first black chief executive of South Africa, and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election.

His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid through tackling institutionalised racism, poverty and inequality, and fostering racial reconciliation.

Politically an African nationalist and democratic socialist, he served as president of the ANC party from 1991 to 1997.

2. THABO MBEKI

First term

Took office: 14 June 1999

Left office: 21 May 2004

Second term

Took office: 21 May 2004

Left office: 24 September 2008

Time in office: 9 years, 102 days

The second post-apartheid president of South Africa.

On 20 September 2008, with about nine months left in his second term, Mbeki announced his resignation after being recalled by the National Executive Committee of the ANC, following a conclusion by judge C.R Nicholson of improper interference in the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), including the prosecution of Jacob Zuma for corruption.

On 12 January 2009, the Supreme Court of Appeal unanimously overturned judge Nicholson’s judgment, but the resignation stood.

3. KGALEMA MOTLANTHE

Took office: 25 September 2008

Left office: 9 May 2009

Time in office: 228 days

The third post-apartheid president of South Africa.

He was elected following the resignation of Thabo Mbeki and briefly served before being succeeded by Jacob Zuma, who later appointed Motlanthe deputy president.

4. JACOB ZUMA

First term

Took office: 9 May 2009

Left office: 21 May 2014

Second term

Took office: 21 May 2014

Left office: 14 February 2018

Time in office: 8 years, 281 days

The fourth post-apartheid president of South Africa.

Presided over the centennial celebration of the ANC in 2015 as well as the death of Nelson Mandela in 2013.

With less than a year before his term was to expire, Zuma resigned on 14 February 2018 following the demands of the ANC that Zuma should resign, or risk facing a successful vote of no confidence by the National Assembly.

5. CYRIL RAMAPHOSA

First term

Took office: 15 February 2018

Left office: 22 May 2019

Second term

Took office: 22 May 2019

Left office: 14 June 2024

Third term

Took office: 14 June 2024

Left office: Incumbent

Time in office: 6 years, 122 days (correct at time of publishing)

The fifth post-apartheid president of South Africa, elected following the resignation of Jacob Zuma. Re-elected on 14 June 2024.

The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the South African National Defence Force.

The president is elected by the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, and is usually the leader of the largest party, which has been the African National Congress (ANC) since the first multiracial election was held on 27 April 1994.

The constitution limits the president’s time in office to two five-year terms.

PRESIDENTS OF SOUTH AFRICA SINCE 1994

1. NELSON MANDELA

Took office: 10 May 1994

Left office: 14 June 1999

Time in office: 5 years, 35 days

The first post-apartheid president of South Africa. The first black chief executive of South Africa, and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election.

His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid through tackling institutionalised racism, poverty and inequality, and fostering racial reconciliation.

Politically an African nationalist and democratic socialist, he served as president of the ANC party from 1991 to 1997.

2. THABO MBEKI

First term

Took office: 14 June 1999

Left office: 21 May 2004

Second term

Took office: 21 May 2004

Left office: 24 September 2008

Time in office: 9 years, 102 days

The second post-apartheid president of South Africa.

On 20 September 2008, with about nine months left in his second term, Mbeki announced his resignation after being recalled by the National Executive Committee of the ANC, following a conclusion by judge C.R Nicholson of improper interference in the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), including the prosecution of Jacob Zuma for corruption.

On 12 January 2009, the Supreme Court of Appeal unanimously overturned judge Nicholson’s judgment, but the resignation stood.

3. KGALEMA MOTLANTHE

Took office: 25 September 2008

Left office: 9 May 2009

Time in office: 228 days

The third post-apartheid president of South Africa.

He was elected following the resignation of Thabo Mbeki and briefly served before being succeeded by Jacob Zuma, who later appointed Motlanthe deputy president.

4. JACOB ZUMA

First term

Took office: 9 May 2009

Left office: 21 May 2014

Second term

Took office: 21 May 2014

Left office: 14 February 2018

Time in office: 8 years, 281 days

The fourth post-apartheid president of South Africa.

Presided over the centennial celebration of the ANC in 2015 as well as the death of Nelson Mandela in 2013.

With less than a year before his term was to expire, Zuma resigned on 14 February 2018 following the demands of the ANC that Zuma should resign, or risk facing a successful vote of no confidence by the National Assembly.

5. CYRIL RAMAPHOSA

Took office: 15 February 2018

Left office: 22 May 2019

First term

Took office: 22 May 2019

Left office: 14 June 2024

Second term

Took office: 14 June 2024

Left office: Incumbent

Time in office: 6 years, 122 days (correct at time of publishing)

The fifth post-apartheid president of South Africa, elected following the resignation of Jacob Zuma.

Ramaphosa was re-elected for a second term on 14 June 2024.

Reagen Allen was elected as deputy speaker, replacing Beverley Schäfer.

The first sitting of the legislature took place on Thursday, 13 June, the first of nine legislature sittings set to take place in all of South Africa’s provinces.

Winde was nominated for the premiership alongside Muhammad Khalid Sayed, from the ANC. Winde won the contest with 26 votes, after a secret ballot, while Sayed obtained 14 votes. Two votes were spoiled.

Before the election, Western Cape acting judge president Patricia Goliath presided over the official swear-in ceremony of all members of the provincial legislature (MPLs), in the chambers in Cape Town.

Alan Winde nomination was a formality

The DA won 55.30% of the provincial vote during the 29 May elections, which translated to 24 seats out of a total 42, the same number they garnered during the 2019 general elections. The ANC came in with 19.55% of the vote, which meant their seats shrunk from 12 in 2019, to 8.

This meant Winde’s nomination was a mere formality, since the DA held an outright majority of seats in the House.

After the announcement of his victory, Winde conveyed his gratitude to the MPLs and citizens of Western Cape.

“It is an absolute honour and privilege to receive the majority vote in this house,” Winde said.

Speaker of the House

Ayanda Bans of the ANC and Mitchell were nominated for the speaker position of the legislature. Mitchell, the incumbent, was re-elected after a secret ballot, clinching the position with 26 votes. Bans received 12 votes while three votes were spoiled.

“I’m am deeply humbled to address this House. I am proud to represent the Western Cape provincial parliament,” Mitchell said after his re-election.

He was first elected when he replaced Masizole Mnqasela in 2022, whose membership of the DA was terminated on 22 November 2022 after he fell out with the party’s honchos.

Mnqasela went on to start a new party, the Alliance of Citizens for Change, which performed dismally and failed to get seats in the legislature.

Comedian-turned-politician praises ‘beautiful wife’ after deputy speaker election

The DA’s Allen was elected as the deputy speaker of the legislature with 26 votes, beating the ANC’s Nobulumko Nkondlo who garnered 12 votes. Three votes were spoiled.

Allen was previously the Western Cape’s MEC for community safety, having been appointed in April 2022 by Winde. He succeeded Albert Fritz, who was dismissed after being fingered for sexual misconduct.

“I firmly believe that today is ultimately part of my destiny. Growing up in Mitchell’s Plain, I’m so aware that life has never been easy. I grew up with a speech impediment. I took very long to even approach my beautiful wife. But today I can make up for the times I couldn’t speak,” said Allen, who used to be a comedian.

Bookmark The South African website’s Elections 2024 hub for the latest news you need to know

The final ANC tally gave President Cyril Ramaphosa’s party just 159 members in the 400-seat National Assembly, its lowest number ever in a general election.

Some sort of coalition will now need to be formed to govern the country for the next five years.

What coalition would YOU like to see in place? Here are some possible options …

A – ANC/DA/IFP – 263 seats

B – ANC/MK/EFF – 256 seats

C – ANC/DA – 246 seats

D – ANC/MK – 217 seats

E – ANC/EFF – 198 seats + smaller parties

F – Other

Let us know by clicking on the comment tab below this article or by emailing info@thesouthafrican.com or sending a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1

You can also follow @TheSAnews on X and The South African on Facebook for the latest 2024 election news.

At the time of publishing, indications are that a Government of National Unity (GNU) between the ANC-DA-IFP will be formed.

It certainly won’t please everyone, but many will argue it ‘could be far worse’.

As reported by The South African website, the 400 MPs will be sworn in on Friday, 14 June from 10:00.

Click HERE to view the full list.

Seat allocation

The ANC saw their number of seats plummet from 230 to 159, below the ‘magical’ 201 mark which would’ve seen it retain sole power.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) improved from 84 seats in 2019 to 87 this time around.

Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party were the big winners, going from obscurity to 58 seats, while the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) dropped from 44 to 39.

The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) also improved from 14 to 17 seats.

In total, 18 parties won seats in 2024 which was up from the 14 parties which did so in 2019.

ANC spokeswoman Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri told reporters the party held “explorative” talks with several others, as it attempts to secure enough parliamentary support to form a government and elect a president.

Its decision making body met to vet all options, including trying to form a minority government, she said.

Among those consulted were parties with radically different agendas, such as the centre-right Democratic Alliance, the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the Zulu nationalist Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP).

No response from MK party

The ANC also “repeatedly” reached out to former president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, which won a surprising 14.6 percent of the vote, but was snubbed, receiving no response.

MK has rejected the election results and threatened to boycott parliament.

It has also said it would not back an ANC-led government if Ramaphosa remains at the helm. The president’s party plans to keep him.

The briefing followed a meeting of the ANC’s top leaders, set to chart a way forward for the party after its poor showing at the ballot.

The ANC won 40 percent – a catastrophic slump from the 57.5 percent it garnered in 2019.

Additional reporting from AFP

On Monday 10 June, Ganief Hendricks – founder and leader of Al Jama-ah – said his party had held talks with the ANC at the weekend over the proposed GNU. However, the talks proved to be fruitless, as Hendricks rejected any tie-up with a GNU that included the DA, saying it would “return the country to white rule”.

GNU will not help black people, says Al Jama-ah

“The country’s economy should be controlled by Blacks; the reparation of land will not be achieved by a GNU. Codesa delayed true freedom and a GNU will further bury these aspirations which would eventually lead to a bloodbath,” said Hendricks in a statement.

And Hendricks also expressed reservations with any GNU involving signatories to the Multi-party Charter, due to some of the parties’ stance on the war between Hamas and Israel.

“Al Jama-ah outrightly rejects a GNU because it will include the values of the Moonshot Pact which is anti-humanitarian, supports the genocide of Palestinians and its policies are anti-poor, leaving the vast majority of South Africans out in the cold,” says Hendricks.

And during an interview on Newzroom Afrika on Monday evening, Hendricks said plainly that the GNU was nothing but a ruse.

“Al Jama-ah feels that [the GNU] is a cloud… That is actually a coalition agreement between the DA and the ANC, and they are trying to sugarcoat it by calling it a government of national unity,” Hendricks told anchor Thabo Mdluli.

However, Hendricks stressed that the ANC and Al Jama-ah continued to have good relations.

Al Jama-ah is stronger in 2024

In April this year before elections, Hendricks told The South African that the ANC trusted Al Jama-ah, especially in light of the Muslim party having successive mayors in the City of Johannesburg.

And with Al Jama-ah gaining an extra seat in Parliament this year and the ANC dropping down to 159 seat since the 2019 elections, it is probable that Hendricks’ party has strengthened its position in negotiations during the GNU.

Which parties do you think should be excluded from the government of national unity and why? Comment below and let your voice be heard.

Bookmark The South African website’s Elections 2024 hub for the latest news you need to know

This is according to Secretary of Parliament Xolile George, who was speaking during the official handover of the lists of new representatives on Thursday at the Constitutional Court.

QUESTION | Which coalition would YOU choose for South Africa?

The lists were handed over by Electoral Commission of South Africa chairperson, Mosotho Moepya, to Chief Justice Raymond Zondo who in turn handed them to George.

Onboarding process

South Africans headed to the polls last week to elect new representatives for the seventh administration in the country’s most competitive elections since the dawn of democracy in 1994.

George outlined the “on boarding” processes that Parliament will undertake for the newly elected members of the National Assembly, the National Council of Provinces and the Provincial Legislatures.

“We have critically considered the parliamentary rules, mechanisms and processes to ensure that the work of Members of Parliament is facilitated and supported effectively.

“Arrangements are in place for the first sittings of the National Assembly, the Provincial Legislatures and the National Council of Provinces.

“With the receipt of the official list of elected representatives I assure the Chief Justice and our nation that our work will continue in earnest to ensure seamless, efficient and effective foundational processes, so that the work of Members of both Houses of Parliament and the Provincial Legislatures can commence without delay,” he said.

Will of the people

At the handover ceremony, Moepya revealed that the 400-member parliament will be made up of 174 females (43.5%) and 226 males (56.5%).

The age range for the representatives is as follows:

“These representatives reflect the choices, hopes and aspirations of millions of citizens who exercised their democratic rights.

“This list is not exhaustive – an election touches the lives of everyone in a nation. Their commitment to ensuring a fair and transparent election has been truly commendable,” Moepya said.

He emphasised that the lists handover is a critical part of South Africa’s democratic processes.

“We do so in keeping with an established practice in South Africa that after the announcement by the Electoral Commission of the results of the National and Provincial Elections the Electoral Commission hands over the lists of members of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures to the Chief Justice, who then hands them over to the Secretary to Parliament.

“This momentous occasion signifies the culmination of a robust and transparent electoral process, a process that echoes the unified voice of our nation.

“[Our] role as the Electoral Commission…is to ensure that South African voters exercise their rights to choose their leaders. We have carried out these responsibilities without fear, favour or prejudice. The lists that we present…reflect the choices of South Africans,” Moepya said. 

This comes as the IEC declared the 2024 National and Provincial Elections as free and fair and earmarks the beginning of the seventh administration.

IEC HANDS OVER LIST OF NEW MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT

IEC Chairperson Mosotho Moepya officially handed over the list at the Constitutional Court on Thursday.

Moepya said their role as the IEC, as contemplated in the Constitution, is to ensure that South African voters have exercised their right to choose leaders.

“Today, we say to you that we have concluded that task,” he said.

The Chief Justice also handed over the list to Parliament Secretary Xolile George in preparation for the first sitting of the National Assembly.

The South African previously reported that the National Assembly must elect a woman or a man from among its members to be the president at its first sitting.

The president-elect ceases to be an MP in the Cape Town-based parliament and must be sworn into office within five days. Thereafter, he names a cabinet to help him run the executive government in Pretoria.

For the past three decades, this has been a smooth procedure, as the ANC has always had more than 200 MPs on its own and has been able to designate its leader as president and confirm him comfortably.

This year, Ramaphosa or a new ANC leader will be forced to rely on backers from other parties in order to get over the threshold, implying a coalition or an agreement to allow the formation of a minority government.

GENDER REPRESENTATION AND AGE GROUP

Moepya also confirmed that 174 (43.5%) of the elected representatives are women, while 226 (56.5%) are men.

Notably, the age range of the members that will constitute the National Assembly is 20 – 79.

In the sixth Parliament, there were 44.5% of women (both in the NA and NCOP). This was an improvement of about 3% in the number of women MPs in the fifth democratic Parliament.

The fifth democratic Parliament had 187 (41.1%) women MPs and was ranked number 10 in the world in terms of women’s representation. This was out of 193 Parliaments, which the world body of Parliaments, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, surveyed.

• In the seventh Parliament, there are 12 candidates in the 20 – 29 age range
• The 30 – 39 age group is represented by 67 candidates
• A total of 110 candidates are in the 40 – 49 age group
• Again, 110 candidates are in the 50 – 59 age range
• On the other hand, 90 candidates are between 60 – 69
• Lastly, only 11 are 70 and above

In the sixth Parliament, the youngest MP was 20-year-old Itumeleng Ntsube, an African National Congress member and Free State Permanent Delegate to the NCOP. The second youngest MP was 24-year-old Sibongiseni Ngcobo, a Democratic Alliance MP in the NA.

Notably, the number of young people in Parliament has also decreased from 15 in the sixth Parliament to just 12.

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President Cyril Ramaphosa’s ANC won 40 percent of the vote – its lowest score ever – and for the first time since the advent of democracy in 1994 needs the backing of other parties.

ANC divided over who to share power with

“What are you doing here?” Ramaphosa quipped to reporters, as he arrived at a hotel on the outskirts of Johannesburg where the ANC’s decision-making body was meeting.

“Are you that worried?”

The party of late anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela is divided over who to share power with, analysts say.

It will have only 159 members in the 400-seat National Assembly, down from 230 in 2019.

On Wednesday, ANC spokeswoman Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri said the top leadership favoured forming a broad coalition for a government of national unity.

“We want to bring everybody on board because South Africans want us to work together for their sake,” ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula told reporters on Thursday.

But observers say this might be hard to pull off given radical differences between some groups that should be part of it.

“I cannot… see how it can really work,” analyst and author Susan Booysen told AFP.

“There is just so much bad blood and ill feeling between different political parties.”

Among them are the centre-right Democratic Alliance (DA), which won 87 seats with a liberal, free-market agenda, and the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), which secured 39 lawmakers and supports land redistribution and the nationalisation of key economic sectors.

Bhengu-Motsiri said the ANC was in discussions also with the Zulu nationalist Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), which will hold 17 seats, and the anti-immigration Patriotic Alliance (PA) that will have nine.

The ANC also “repeatedly” reached out to former president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, which won 14.6 percent of the vote and 58 seats, but received no response.

Zuma, a former ANC chief, has long been bitter about the way he was ousted under a cloud of corruption allegations in 2018.

The MK, which was only established late last year, has rejected the election results and said it would not back an ANC-led government if Ramaphosa remains at the helm.

But the president’s party plans to keep him.

‘Outcry’

Analyst Daniel Silke said the ANC was likely floating the idea of a “broad church” government to appease some members before veering towards a narrower coalition if national unity talks failed.

Many within the party oppose a deal with the DA, which is favoured by investors and the business community but has policies at odds with the ANC’s left-wing traditions.

Reports suggesting the ANC was considering forming a minority government with external backing from the DA caused a “huge outcry”, said Booysen.

Outside the hotel where the ANC National Executive Committee (NEC) was meeting, a handful of protesters held signs reading “Not in our name. #NotwiththeDA”.

The South African Communist Party, an historic ally of the ANC, also said it was against any arrangement with “the right-wing, DA-led anti-ANC neo-liberal forces”.

Together the ANC and the DA hold a comfortable majority in parliament.

Any agreement with the EFF would instead require the support of at least another party.

The new parliament is to meet in less than two weeks and one of its first tasks will be to elect a president to form a new government.

By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse

Bookmark The South African website’s Elections 2024 hub for the latest news you need to know

The final tally gave President Cyril Ramaphosa’s ANC party just 159 members in the 400-seat National Assembly, its lowest number ever in a general election.

Some sort of coalition will now need to be formed to govern the country going forward.

What coalition would YOU like to see in place? Here are some possible options …

A – ANC/MK/EFF – 256 seats

B – ANC/DA – 246 seats

C – ANC/MK – 217 seats

D – ANC/EFF – 198 seats + smaller parties

E – Other

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Seat allocation

The ANC saw their number of seats plummet from 230 to 159, below the ‘magical’ 201 mark which would’ve seen it retain sole power.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) improved from 84 seats in 2019 to 87 this time around.

Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party were the big winners, going from obscurity to 58 seats, while the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) dropped from 44 to 39.

The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) also improved from 14 to 17 seats.

In total, 18 parties won seats in 2024 which was up from the 14 parties which did so in 2019.

ANC spokeswoman Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri told reporters the party held “explorative” talks with several others, as it attempts to secure enough parliamentary support to form a government and elect a president.

Its decision making body was to meet on Thursday to vet all options, including trying to form a minority government, she said.

Among those consulted were parties with radically different agendas, such as the centre-right Democratic Alliance, the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the Zulu nationalist Inkatha Freedom Party.

Bengu-Motsiri named the EFF, which supports land redistribution and the nationalisation of key economic sectors, and the anti-immigration Patriotic Alliance, as the parties that so far appear willing to join a broad coalition.

Which groups would “finally form part” of such a government was however “a function of ongoing negotiations”, she said.

No response from MK party

The ANC also “repeatedly” reached out to former President Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, which won a surprising 14.6 percent of the vote, but was snubbed, receiving no response.

MK has rejected the election results and threatened to boycott parliament.

It has also said it would not back an ANC-led government if Ramaphosa remains at the helm. The president’s party plans to keep him.

The briefing followed a meeting of the ANC’s top leaders, set to chart a way forward for the party after its poor showing at the ballot.

The ANC won 40 percent – a catastrophic slump from the 57.5 percent it garnered in 2019.

The new parliament is to meet in less than two weeks and its first task will be to elect a president to form a new government.

Additional reporting from AFP

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Addressing the ceremony held to announce the results of the 2024 National and Provincial Election on Sunday, Ramaphosa commended South Africans for participating in the elections, noting that by going to vote, they have taken responsibility not only for the future of themselves and their families, but for the future of their country.

He said South Africans have shown how important their vote is and that they know that their vote counts.

Ramaphosa said through their votes citizens have demonstrated clearly and plainly that the country’s democracy is strong, robust, and enduring. 

“They have given effect to the clarion call that has resonated across the generations, that the people shall govern…. our people have spoken. As the leaders of political parties, as all those who occupy positions of responsibility in society, we have heard the voices of our people and we must respect their wishes,” President Ramaphosa said at the Electoral Commission’s (IEC) Result Operations Centre (ROC) in Midrand.

WATCH | 2024 National and Provincial Elections results announcement

He added that the elections – which took place on Wednesday, 29 May and were preceded by in-country special votes on Monday and Tuesday – have reaffirmed the fact that building a South Africa for all remains the defining mission of the nation. 

Ramaphosa noted that over the course of the election campaign, parties and candidates have at times differed, often forcefully, and expressed a wide variety of views that are often at odds with each other.

He said throughout the election campaign, parties and candidates have held fast to the fundamental principles of democracy and have affirmed the right of voters to participate in an election that is free, fair, and peaceful.

The will of the people

Ramaphosa called upon political parties to recognise the results of the election, saying they reflect the will of the people. 

“What this election has made plain is that the people of South Africa expect their leaders to work together to meet their needs. They expect the parties for which they have voted to find common ground, to overcome their differences, to act and work together for the good of everyone. 

“Our people expect all parties to work together within the framework of our constitution and address whatever challenges we encounter peacefully and in accordance with the prescripts of our constitution and the rule of law. Each party emerges from this election with a mandate based on the commitments they each made to the electorate,” Ramaphosa said.

Partnerships

However, Ramaphosa emphasised that all the parties must work in partnership with each other and with society more broadly, to build a country that is inclusive, united, and prosperous.

“As we take up our seats in Parliament and in the provincial legislatures, let us appreciate that the seats we occupy do not belong to us, [but] they belong to the people. Whatever authority, whatever power, we are entrusted with must be exercised to advance the interests of the people,” Ramaphosa said.

Praise for IEC, law enforcement parties and independents

Ramaphosa commended the IEC for its excellence, professionalism and integrity, despite many challenges.

“As the 2024 election reaches its conclusion, we thank the staff and leadership of the Independent Electoral Commission, who have worked tirelessly to ensure the success of these elections, often under difficult conditions.

“We pay tribute to the men and women of the South African Police Service and the South African National Defence Force for ensuring peace and stability during voting, and to the Home Affairs staff who ensured that as many voters as possible had their identity documents on Election Day,” Ramaphosa said. 

Ramaphosa expressed his gratitude to independent candidates and leaders and members of the various political parties that participated in the elections.  

“I wish to thank all the local and international observer teams, who gave their time and effort to ensure a free and fair election. I also thank the journalists, researchers, camera persons, producers, analysts, and other members of the media, who played such an essential role in ensuring that the South African people were well informed as they went to vote. 

“Above all, we thank the people of South Africa for once again giving life and meaning to the values and principles of our constitutional democracy,” Ramaphosa concluded.

The team will be headed by former DA leaders Tony Leon and Helen Zille.

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Leon, who served as party leader from 1999 to 2007, and Zille, who was leader from 2007 to 2015, will lead the negotiating team that will, over the next fortnight speak to various parties to wrangle out a governance deal.

Other members of the negotiating team are Western Cape Premier Alan Winde, parliamentary chief whip Siviwe Gwarube, federal chairperson Ivan Meyer, and Ryan Coetzee.

Coalition pact to govern South Africa

South Africa is set to be governed by a coalition pact for the next five years, after the ruling African National Congress (ANC) failed to retain its majority at the national level, picking up just 40.18% of the vote.

In addition, as reported by The South African website, it lost its majority in three province, namely Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Northern Cape.

The DA has not ruled out the possibility of joining the ANC to form a government in parliament and provincial legislatures.

Speaking during a media briefing on Sunday, DA leader John Steenhuisen said the party’s coalition negotiations team would engage all other political parties.

Steenhuisen is not part of the DA negotiation party.

“This talented and experienced team will report back to myself and to the federal executive – whereafter the party will decide on the way forward. I want to assure South Africans that the DA will always act in the interest of the people throughout this unprecedented moment in our history.”

Parties have 14 days to work out a coalition deal to form a government.

The DA finished second in the 2024 election with 3 505 735 votes which represented 21.81% overall.

Khumalo, who founded and registered the MK Party in 2023, wrote to the Electoral Commission saying Zuma is not the legitimate leader of the political party. Ahead of the historic polls on 29 May, he called on the IEC to remove Zuma from the ballot.

MK PARTY MEMBERS ATTACK JABULANI KHUMALO

On Monday, Khumalo insisted that Zuma’s daughter Duduzile forged the letter which was submitted to the IEC as his resignation.

Khumalo’s lawyer said anyone with access to Khumalo’s emails and his electronic signature could have forged the letter, and they believe that Zuma’s daughter did so.

On the other hand, Jacob Zuma’s lawyer advocate Dali Mpofu confirmed that Duduzile has instructed her lawyers to mount a serious case of defamation against Khumalo.

After the court proceedings had adjourned, Khumalo was ambushed as he left court. Angry people in MK Party regalia cursed and swore at him while others threw stuff on his car.

Two cars belonging to his security detail allegedly crashed as they tried to get away from the tense situation.

EXPELLED LEADER ACCUSES ZUMA OF HIJACKING HIS PARTY

In a letter issued earlier in May, Khumalo accused Zuma of hijacking the MK Party.

Khumalo said before his expulsion, he was called into a meeting with several individuals who were not on the national executive committee but were active within the party.

Jabulani Khumalo was expelled alongside Ray Khumalo, Bheki Manzini, Lebo Moepeng, and Rochelle Davidson. The party said the suspension was a commitment to purify itself from rogue elements that would blur its lines to the two-thirds majority.

“Zuma announced that I had been removed as the president of the party, and he would henceforth be the president of the party. During that meeting, a fraudulent letter was prepared for transmission to the IEC announcing that I would no longer be on the list of candidates and that Zuma would be the face and the president of the MKP.

“I sent a letter to the Electoral Commission in which I confirmed that Zuma would be the face of the party. At no stage did I confirm that Zuma would be the president of the party.”

“I request urgently that the Electoral Commission should remove Zuma’s name as the ‘face’ of MK Party. He should also be immediately removed as the president of the MK Party. He occupies these positions through fraudulent manoeuvres,” Khumalo said.

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The next government will be led by a president chosen by MPs from among their number but the incumbent, President Cyril Ramaphosa of the African National Congress (ANC), is no longer in sole charge of his destiny.

So what happens next?

What does the constitution say?

The results of South Africa’s 2024 general election were announced on Sunday, and the new parliament is supposed to meet not more than 14 days after this, on a date determined by the chief justice.

“At its first sitting after its election … the National Assembly must elect a woman or a man from among its members to be the president,” according to the constitution.

The president-elect ceases to be an MP in the Cape Town-based parliament and must be sworn in to office within five days, after which he names a cabinet to help him run the executive government in Pretoria.

For the past three decades this has been a smooth procedure, as the ANC has always had more than 200 MPs on its own and has been able to designate its leader as president and confirm him comfortably.

This year, Ramaphosa or a new ANC leader will be forced to rely on backers from other parties in order to get over the threshold, implying a coalition or an agreement to allow the formation of a minority government.

What do the parties say?

Several opposition parties, in particular the centre-right Democratic Alliance and the Zulu nationalist Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), have indicated they are ready to negotiate a political deal with the ANC.

Between them, the ANC’s 159 seats and the DA’s 87 already add up to a majority.

Adding in the IFP’s 17 would create a bigger buffer if some ruling party MPs baulk at the idea of doing a deal with right-wing rivals.

But there are other routes to a majority.

The ANC could seek a deal with a basket of smaller parties.

The far-right Patriotic Alliance has nine MPs and will talk to anyone with power if he or she agrees to expel undocumented migrants.

Another 16 parties have between one and six seats, and could form an unwieldy coalition.

But, ideologically, the broad-church but traditionally left progressive ANC is closer to two outfits run by former senior members of its own ranks.

Former ANC youth leader Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has 39 MPs and would leave Ramaphosa only three seats short of a majority.

But the party’s radical leftist policies – in particular a vow to nationalise many private businesses and land – and Malema’s history of racially-charged and threatening public statements would alienate many moderates and white voters.

The third-placed party, graft-tainted former ANC president Jacob Zuma’s comeback vehicle uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, would bring 58 seats, but has rejected the election results and threatened to boycott parliament.

The MK has also said that it would not back an ANC-led government if Ramaphosa remains at the helm, and the president’s party plans to keep him.

Furthermore, the DA’s white leader John Steenhuisen says he is only open to talks with the ANC to prevent what he calls an ANC-MK-EFF “Doomsday Coalition” that he says would wreck the constitution and economy.

How will the negotiations work?

Several officials from rival groups told AFP at the results announcement late on Sunday that informal talks between party bigwigs have already begun.

This is expected to accelerate over the week ahead.

The DA and IFP say they have nominated leadership teams to conduct formal talks.

Most significantly, the ANC’s powerful National Executive Council is expected to meet on Tuesday to decide whether to stick with Ramaphosa as its candidate and to set the direction of negotiations.

Press reports suggest the party may be leaning towards a “confidence and supply” arrangement where the DA and IFP agree to vote for Ramaphosa as president and promise to back him in budget votes and confidence motions.

But there may yet be an agreement on a formal coalition, with former opposition candidates in executive roles and ministries.

By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse

That is also true in three of the nine provincial legislatures.

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With 16 290 156 total votes cast, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) lost its 30-year long parliamentary majority, securing just 40.18% of the National Assembly (NA) vote.

The ANC won just 159 out of the 400 available seats in parliament, down a whopping 71 seats from the 2019 election.

ANC lost majority in 3 provinces

As reported by The South African website, in addition to this, the ANC dropped its support base in all nine provincial legislatures and lost its provincial majority in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and the Northern Cape.

Below, a look at how the ANC fared percentage-of-votes-wise in the 2023 election in each of the nine provinces compared to its 2019 results:

From the above table, it’s clear that the ANC bled votes in every province with its greatest decline coming in KwaZulu-Natal (37.85%) with Mpumalanga, Gauteng and the Free State also seeing double-digit percentage drops.

But HOW MANY fewer votes did the ANC receive in 2023 compared to 2019 in each province?

It clear that the ANC were hard hit by the MK party in KwaZulu-Natal, losing over 1.4 million votes in the province alone.

In Gauteng the ANC shed close on 950 000 votes, with only the North West province’s numbers remotely close to 2019’s figures.

In total, the ANC lost a staggering 3 466 171 voters’ trust in South Africa.

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) declared the 2024 National and Provincial Elections as free and fair. Notably, there is no political party with an outright majority. The ANC which has always polled above 50% plummeted to 40% for the first time since the dawn of democracy.

Essentially, what the results mean that the country will now be governed through coalition. This has been the case in some of the country’s metropolitan municipalities especially in Gauteng after the 2021 local government elections.

PATRIOTIC ALLIANCE AND THE ANC TO ENGAGE IN COALITION TALKS

As per the election results, the ANC lost its majority as support declined from 57% in 2019 to 40%. The Democratic Alliance (DA) is still the official opposition with 22% while former President Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party is the third-biggest party with 15%.

Gayton McKenzie’s Patriotic Alliance is the sixth-biggest political party as it got 330 425 and nine seats in the National Assembly.

McKenzie took to X (formerly Twitter) to confirm that they will be meeting with the ANC.

“Full transparency, Patriotic Alliance meeting ANC today for coalition talks, we will not be arrogant in our demands but we will not accept any deal that doesn’t make mass deportation a reality. We will rather go fight in parliament instead. We have a mandate and have no right to change it,” he wrote.

WILL THE THE PA GET THE HOME AFFAIRS PORTFOLIO?

Ahead of the election results announcement, McKenzie said they are going to demand the Home Affairs portfolio during coalition negotiations.

McKenzie has always advocated for the mass deportation of illegal immigrants.

“Everyone in this country has lost their mind. A state has to prioritise its citizens. Restaurants and shops are largely full of illegal immigrants – and our people must compete against Kenyans, Serbians, Bosnians, all of that, for jobs and services.”

“If the Patriotic Alliance takes over, let me tell you, we start at 9:00 in the morning – by half-past three, all illegal foreigners will be in jail or outside of the country. We are not here to play. I’d previously overstayed my [visa] in Zambia, and was ejected in four days. You can’t just walk into places like the US, either. They hold their government to account,” he said in an interview ahead of the 2021 local government elections.

Earlier this year McKenzie and his party decided to patrol the weakened border hotspot between South Africa and Zimbabwe.

The PA spent five days along the banks of the Limpopo River near Beit Bridge border, preventing the illegal immigrations of Zimbabweans into the country.

McKenzie said he had nothing against the northern neighbours, and had a lot of praise for Zimbabweans and implored on them to redirect their energy in helping to restore their country.

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In terms of the overall picture, a record low total of 16 290 156 votes were cast.

Of those, 213 437 were spoilt votes, leaving a grand total of 16 076 719 valid votes.

The African National Congress (ANC) received the most votes – 6 459 683 votes (40.18%) – followed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) (3 505 735 votes for 21.81%) with the MK party in third (2 344 309 votes at 14.58%).

The EFF finished in fourth place with 1 529 961 votes (9.52%).

As a reminder, in the 2019 elections the ANC finished top with 57.5% of the total vote.

This is how the voting went in each of South Africa’s nine provinces:

GAUTENG FINAL VOTING

EASTERN CAPE FINAL VOTING

NORTH WEST FINAL VOTING

LIMPOPO FINAL VOTING

WESTERN CAPE FINAL VOTING

MPUMALANGA FINAL VOTING

KWAZULU-NATAL FINAL VOTING

FREE STATE FINAL VOTING

NORTHERN CAPE FINAL VOTING

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But, in a sign of possible turmoil to come, graft-tainted former president Jacob Zuma boycotted the results ceremony and his party refused to recognise the outcome.

Cyril Ramaphosa’s ANC got 159 seats

The final tally gave Ramaphosa’s ruling African National Congress 159 places in the 400-seat National Assembly, its lowest score in a general election.

The centre-right opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) was on 87, Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party on 58 and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) of leftist firebrand Julius Malema on 39, followed by several minority outfits.

The vote share of late liberation leader Nelson Mandela’s party slumped to just over 40 percent from the 57 percent it won in 2019.

The new parliament is to meet within two weeks and its first task will be to elect a president to form a new government.

But, with no outright winner for the first time since the advent of South Africa’s post-apartheid democracy, the ANC will need outside support to secure Ramaphosa’s re-election.

‘Doomsday Coalition’

In an address after the official results ceremony, Cyril Ramaphosa was coy about his thinking regarding a deal, but stressed the need for all parties to respect the results and work together.

“Our people have spoken, whether we like it or not,” Ramaphosa said, in an apparent nod to the expected legal challenge from Zuma’s MK and the implicit threat of unrest.

“As the leaders of political parties … we must respect their wishes.”

The DA’s veteran white leader John Steenhuisen had repeated his pledge to work with the ANC, if only to head off what he has declared would be the “Doomsday Coalition” between the ruling party, Zuma’s MK party and the EFF.

He described pledges in the MK and EFF manifestos to nationalise privately owned land and undermine judicial independence as “an all-out assault on the constitution of our country”.

ANC secretary general Fikile Mbalula told AFP the party was having “exploratory discussions at the moment, we talk to everybody”.

He said the ANC hoped to achieve a deal “as fast as we can”.

Provocation?

In an ominous sign of disunity ahead, Zuma’s supporters in the often restive eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal paraded round the countryside in noisy celebratory convoys but boycotted the provincial results announcement in Durban and the national event in Johannesburg.

Asked why Zuma stayed away, MK spokesman Nhlamulo Ndhlela said that to attend would be “tantamount to endorsing an illegal declaration”.

On Saturday, Zuma had warned that to announce results he was not satisfied with would be tantamount to a “provocation”.

The United States did not appear concerned over the results, with State Department spokesman Matthew Miller posting on social media to congratulate South Africans on “serving as a standard bearer of democracy throughout Africa and the world.”

Zuma’s MK, formed barely eight months ago as a vehicle for the charismatic but controversial 82-year-old to re-enter politics, came first in the KwaZulu-Natal provincial assembly election but without an outright majority.

His supporters have said they will not join a coalition unless there is an agreement to pardon Zuma for a conviction that saw him banned as a parliamentary candidate, and to rewrite the constitution to permit him to stand.

Zuma, forced out of office as president and ANC leader in 2018 under a cloud of corruption allegations, was jailed for contempt of court in 2021, which triggered riots that left more than 350 people dead.

Calls for calm

Police Minister Bheki Cele said the security forces were ready “to ensure continued peaceful conditions after the elections”.

Speaking alongside him, Defence Minister Thandi Modise said the government had “not engaged directly with the MK party” but had “called for calm during the campaign”.

“We will not tolerate for anyone to tarnish South Africa,” Modise said.

The ANC retains the respect of many South Africans for its leading role in overthrowing white-minority rule.

Its progressive social welfare and black economic empowerment policies are credited by supporters with helping millions of black families out of poverty.

But over three decades of almost unchallenged rule its leadership has been implicated in a series of corruption scandals, while the continent’s most industrialised economy has languished and crime and unemployment figures have hit record highs.

By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse

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While voters queued for hours upon hours (and even more hours in several instances) to cast their vote on Wednesday, 29 May, the thinking was that the lengthy wait was due to the high numbers of voters.

However, it turns out the cynics were correct: The IEC were just taking an absolute age to process those relatively ‘few’ in attendance, as reported by The South African website.

Final voter numbers a new record low

As reported by The South African website, a record number of 27 723 820 voters were registered for this year’s election.

In the most recent elections in 2019, a record low of 66.05% of registered voters actually queued to mark their ‘X’ on voting day.

That ‘low’ just got lower …

With the vote counting now 100% complete, a mere 16 290 156 votes were cast by those registered.

That represents a shockingly low turnout percentage of 58.76%.

As many as 11 433 664 registered voters didn’t turn up at the polls for whatever reason.

In addition, 213 437 voters queued, but then spoilt their ballot papers.

HOW WAS YOUR VOTING DAY EXPERIENCE?

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The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) declared the official results during a ceremony at the national Results Operations Centre on Sunday, attended by, among others, President Cyril Ramaphosa.

This paves the way for the seventh administration, which will lead South Africa for the next five years.

Record low percentage of election voters

South Africans on 29 May voted using three ballots for the first time because of the inclusion of independent candidates on the ballot.

These were the National Ballot, National Regional Ballot and the Provincial Legislature Ballot.

Around 16 290 156 South Africans made their mark, translating into a shockingly low voter turnout of 58.61%.

The parties which received the most votes and thus garnered seats in the 400-member National Assembly are as follows:

• African National Congress (ANC) – 159 seats.
• Democratic Alliance (DA) – 87 seats.
• uMkhonto weSizwe party (MK party) – 58 seats.
• Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) – 39 seats.
• Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) – 17 seats.
• Patriotic Alliance (PA) – 9 seats.
• Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) – 6 seats.
• ActionSA – 6 seats.
• African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) – 3 seats.
• United Democratic Movement (UDM) – 3 seats.
• African Transformation Movement (ATM) – 2 seats.
• Al Jama-ah – 2 seats.
• Build One South Africa (BOSA) – 2 seats.
• National Coloured Congress (NCC) – 2 seats.
• Rise Mzansi – 2 seats
• GOOD Party – 1 seat
• Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) – 1 seat
• United Africans Transformation (UTM) – 1 seat

Winners of the National Assembly votes by each region were as follows:

• Eastern Cape – ANC with 62.42% of the vote, 16 seats.
• Free State – ANC with 52.56% of the vote, 6 seats.
• Gauteng – ANC with 34.62% of the vote, 17 seats.
• KwaZulu-Natal – MK Party with 44.91% of the vote, 19 seats
• Mpumalanga – ANC with 51.31% of the vote, 8 seats.
• Northern Cape – ANC with 49.47% of the vote, 3 seats.
• Limpopo – ANC with 73.38% of the vote, 16 seats.
• North West – ANC 58.29% of the vote, 8 seats.
• Western Cape – DA with 53.37% of the vote, 14 seats

The winners of the provincial legislatures were as follows:

• Eastern Cape – ANC to lead the legislature with 45 seats won.
• Free State – ANC to lead the legislature with 16 seats won.
• Gauteng – ANC to lead the legislature with 28 seats won.
• KwaZulu-Natal – MK Party to lead the legislature with 37 seats won.
• Mpumalanga – ANC to lead the legislature with 27 won.
• Northern Cape – ANC to lead the legislature with 15 seats won
• Limpopo – ANC to lead the legislature with 48 seats won.
• North West – ANC to lead the legislature with 23 seats won.
• Western Cape – DA to lead the legislature with 24 seats won.

“After carefully considering the extensive measures put in place and acknowledging the provisions of section 57(3) of the Electoral Act 1998, the commission declares the results of the 2024 National and Provincial Elections, free and fair,” IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya said during the results announcement programme.

The list of elected public representatives was handed over to President Cyril Ramaphosa at the ceremony.

On Thursday, Chief Justice Raymond Zondo is expected to officially receive the lists of designated Members of Parliament from the IEC in preparation for the first sitting of the National Assembly, which he will preside over.

Ramaphosa said this during his address at the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) results centre in Midrand, on Sunday, 2 June.

RAMAPHOSA COMMENTS ON 2024 ELECTION RESULTS

Despite objections from various political parties, the IEC declared the 2024 polls as free and fair. The Commission also announced the number of seats allocated to political parties in the nine legislatures across the country and most importantly, the National Assembly.

During his address, Ramaphosa thanked South Africans for coming out in numbers to cast their vote and for once again, giving life and meaning to the values and principles of the country’s constitutional democracy.

“You are the most important people who have demonstrated that yes, we can have a democracy and you have given further life to the democracy that we now have over the 30 year period,” he said.

Ramaphosa also called on other political parties to put South Africa first.

“This is the time for all of us to put South Africa first. The people of this country expect and deserve no less,” he added.

THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE

Ramaphosa who is the first ANC president under whose leadership support plummeted to 40% for the first time since 1994 conceded defeat.

The President said the 2024 election results reflect the will of the people.

“Our people have given effect to the clarion call that has resonated across generations that ‘the people shall govern’. Our people have spoken, whether we like it or not they have spoken. As the leaders of political parties, as all those who occupy positions of responsibility in society, we have heard the voices of our people and we must respect their wishes,” Ramaphosa said as he accepted the election results.

Furthermore, Ramaphosa emphasised that all the parties must work in partnership with each other and with society more broadly, to build a country that is inclusive, united, and prosperous.

“As we take up our seats in Parliament and in the provincial legislatures, let us appreciate that the seats we occupy do not belong to us, [but] they belong to the people. Whatever authority, whatever power, we are entrusted with must be exercised to advance the interests of the people,” he added.

According to Sunday World, the Nizwala Ngobani hitmaker was speaking to fans who had come out to Sankofa album show at the Durban Playhouse on Friday, 31 May.

THANDISWA MAZWAI APPLUADS KWAZULU-NATAL FOR VOTING THE ANC OUT

During her event, Thandiswa applauded her KZN supporters for voting the ANC out of power.

“Angithi besithe siyawakhipha amasela nenze njalo,” Mazwai said to her fans.

The message, loosely translated in English, means: “We had said we are removing the thieves and that is what you did.”

However, she was not impressed with the residents of Gauteng as the ANC received 36% of the votes, still putting them in first place. “Manje sebenzani eGauteng? [now, what are the people of Gauteng doing?).”

ELECTION RESULTS IN KWAZULU-NATAL

The elections results in KwaZulu-Natal have favoured the new uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party, which is led by former ANC and South African president Jacob Zuma.

More than 1.58 million voters (45.35%) threw their weight behind Zuma’s party on their provincial ballots, while the IFP received 18.01% of the votes. The ANC took the third spot with 16.99%, followed by the Democratic Alliance with 13,36%.

THE ANC REACTS

According to the ANC’s deputy secretary-general, Nomvula Mokonyane, the results in the province were beyond what they had expected.

“We said it when we campaigned that it is unfortunate that we are contesting against an organiser and an activist of the ANC, a [former] president of the ANC [Jacob Zuma]. And what has come out is exactly what was our concern and as to what has happened in KZN. Of course, it has surprised the ANC and it is beyond what we expected,” SowetanLIVE quoted her as saying.

She continued: “Where do these votes come from? What may be the issues and how do we best give a better explanation of that? We can’t pre-empt on what the collective of the ANC may come and conclude as the reasons behind all of this.”

Addressing the media at the National Results Operations Centre in Midrand on Sunday, 2 June, ANC secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula, begrudgingly conceding defeat. However, he said the ANC never underestimated Zuma.

“We knew he [Zuma] would get support in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and Mpumalanga. We [just] did not know he would get this much support. The [MK] party was unstoppable.

“That is why we put up a fight in relation to him and his party while also mobilising our people. The ANC spent a lot of money and time in these provinces because we knew ourselves that we were being challenged,” Mbalula said.

In the alleged fake voice note circulating on various social media platforms, an individual says grandmothers who did not vote for the ANC must be killed through food poisoning.

ANC KZN CONDEMNS ALLEGED FAKE VOICE NOTE

ANC spokesperson in KwaZulu-Natal, Mafika Mndebele, said they categorically reject the fake voice note and many others purporting to be the ANC leaders.

Mndebele said they wish to alert WhatsApp group users and administrators that, under the Cybercrimes Act of 19 of 2020, using social media to fabricate and publish defamatory content is a criminal offence.

“There will be severe consequences against criminals and individuals who are distributing this voice note,” he added.

PARTY LOSES MAJORITY IN PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURE

Meanwhile, for the first time in history, the ANC has lost its majority as it only secured 40% of the total votes in the 2024 elections.

South Africa’s liberation party has polled above 50% since the dawn of democracy in 1994.

To add to more woes, the party also lost its majority in some provincial legislatures. Surprisingly, the Jacob Zuma-led MK Party has the secured just over 40% of votes in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. This means the party has 37 seats in the provincial legislature.

Unsurprisingly, the ANC is followed by Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) which has 15 seats while the ANC has 14 seats.

Ahead of the elections some political analysts and polls predicted that support for opposition parties such as the IFP and EFF would decline especially with the emergence of former President Jacob Zuma’s party.

Despite objections, the Commission declared the 2024 elections as free and fair during the results ceremony at its national results operation centre on Sunday, 2 June. 

HOW MANY SEATS PARTIES HAVE IN PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURES

On Sunday, the IEC released the number of seats each political party that contested the elections have in the nine legislatures across the country.

KWAZULU-NATAL LEGISLATURE SEATS:

• The Jacob Zuma-led uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party emerged as the biggest winner in KwaZulu-Natal with 37 seats. 
• The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) has the second highest number of seats in the legislature with 15. 
• The African National Congress has 14 seats. 
• The Democratic Alliance (DA) has 11 seats while Julius Malema’s has two seats. 
• Lastly, late Zanele kaMagwaza Msibi’s National Freedom Party (NFP) has one seat. 
  

GAUTENG PROVINCIAL LEGISLATURE:

• ANC – 28
• DA – 22
• EFF – 11
• MK PARTY – 8
• ACTIONSA – 3
• PA – 2
• VF PLUS – 2
• ACDP – 1
• BOSA – 1
• IFP – 1
• RISE MZANSI – 1

WESTERN CAPE LEGISLATURE:

• DA – 24
• ANC – 8
• PA – 3
• EFF – 2
• ACDP – 1
• ALJAMA – 1
• GOOD – 1
• NCC – 1
• VF PLUS – 1

MPUMALANGA LEGISLATURE SEATS:

• ANC – 27
• MK – 9
• EFF – 7
• DA – 6
• ACTIONSA -1
• VF PLUS – 1

NORTHERN CAPE:

• ANC – 15
• DA – 7
• EFF – 4
• PA – 3
• VF PLUS – 1

LIMPOPO:

• ANC – 48
• EFF – 9
• DA – 4
• MK PARTY – 1
• UAT – 1
• VF PLUS – 1

EASTERN CAPE:

• ANC – 45
• DA – 11
• EFF – 8
• UDM – 3
• PA – 2
• ATM – 1
• MK PARTY – 1

FREE STATE:

• ANC – 16
• DA – 7
• EFF – 4
• ACT – 1
• MK PARTY – 1
• VF PLUS – 1

Bookmark The South African website’s Elections 2024 hub for the latest news you need to know

Supporters of the charismatic 82-year-old sat on the vehicles’ window ledges singing anti-apartheid anthems as the convoy swirled around mountain villages, cheered by flag-waving residents.

“We voted for Zuma because we have seen his hard work,” said Sakhile Shezi, a 31-year-old factory worker.

MK party won 14.59% of the votes

Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party came out of nowhere to win more than 14.59% of votes nationwide in Wednesday’s election, according to official figures, with 99.94 percent of votes counted.

Founded just months ago as a vehicle for the former national president and ANC chief, it is now South Africa’s third-largest party, behind the governing African National Congress (ANC) and the centre-right Democratic Alliance (DA).

In Zuma’s KwaZulu-Natal, a key electoral battleground, it emerged as the largest force with 45.9%, routing the ANC and pushing it toward the party’s worst national result in three decades of democracy.

Having slid well below 50 percent of preferences for the first time, the ANC will now have to look for coalition partners to form a national government, and the MK is among various potential bedfellows.

‘Wisdom of the people’

“Now that we have taken over, the real work begins,” Musa Mkhize, MK’s provincial head of programmes, told supporters as the convoy stopped during its two-hour journey across the semi-rural area of Kwaximba, one of the biggest voting districts.

“We are here to celebrate the wisdom of the people of these wards… to celebrate with them that they have brought the power of the people back to them,” he added to AFP.

Zuma, who was president from 2009 to 2018, was forced out of office under the cloud of corruption, and for many South Africans his rule has since become synonymous with “state capture” by corrupt business interests.

But he is still venerated by large swathes of the population in KwaZulu-Natal, where many identify with his Zulu traditionalism.

Celebrations in some parts of the province kicked off as soon as results started to trickle in this week.

Despite its impressive score, MK party has contested the vote tally.

On Saturday, Jacob Zuma warned the electoral commission against announcing the final results on Sunday as scheduled.

“When the official results come out, we will have the majority, that we don’t doubt,” Thembeka Gwala, 30, said from a moving minibus.

Throughout the campaign MK told supporters it was going to win two-thirds of the vote.

By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse

Bookmark The South African website’s Elections 2024 hub for the latest news you need to know

The commission confirmed that it has received over 500 objections from over 20 political parties.

IEC ANNOUNCES ELECTION RESULTS

Nearly 16.5 million South Africans cast their votes on Wednesday, 29 May.

For the first time since the dawn of democracy South Africa’s liberation party the African National Congress (ANC) lost its outright majority as support declined to 40%.

The Presidency has also confirmed that President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver an address at the results ceremony.

On Saturday, former president and uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party leader Jacob Zuma warned the IEC against declaring the results amid the objections.

Former Free State Premier Ace Magashule’s African Congress for Transformation (ACT) and Zuma’s MK Party are among the political parties that have rejected the election results.

“Some say machines crashed. No machine crashed. Wrong things were being done on the machines. I hope whoever is responsible hears what we are saying…don’t start trouble where there is no trouble. Give political parties which I think are a majority a chance to present their cases, information and everything,” Zuma said.

Bookmark The South African website’s Elections 2024 hub for the latest news you need to know

With 99.91 percent of the votes from Wednesday’s election counted, President Cyril Ramaphosa’s ANC had only 40.2%, a catastrophic slump from the 57.5% it won in 2019.

“The ANC is committed to the formation of a government that reflects the will of the people, that is stable and that is able to govern effectively,” ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula told a press conference.

The party must negotiate a coalition government or at least persuade others to back Ramaphosa’s re-election in parliament to allow him to form a minority administration.

Mbalula said the ANC will hold discussions internally and with other groups “over the next few days”.

This marks a historic turning point for South Africa as the party has enjoyed an absolute majority since 1994, when liberation hero Nelson Mandela led the nation out of white-minority rule and into democracy.

‘Clear message’

“The results send a clear message to the ANC,” Mbalula said.

“We wish to assure the people of South Africa that we have heard them. We have heard their concerns, their frustrations and their dissatisfaction.”

The final results are to be formally announced on Sunday, with Ramaphosa due to deliver an address during an official ceremony near Johannesburg.

But some parties have alleged discrepancies in the vote count.

The largest and most vocal was former president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, which warned electoral authorities against going ahead with the final announcements.

“If that happens you are going to be provoking us,” Zuma, 82, said on Saturday, complaining about unspecified “serious” issues despite providing no supporting evidence.

Data from the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) showed MK in third place on 14.59%, a surprise score for a party founded just months ago as a vehicle for the former ANC chief.

But throughout the campaign, MK told supporters it was going to win two-thirds of the vote.

IEC chairman Mosotho Moepya said the commission was going to look at “everything that is before us” and had ordered recounts in 24 instances.

‘No-go area’

The ANC will now have to turn to opponents from the left or the right to form a government.

The centre-right Democratic Alliance (DA) held second place with 21.78%, slightly up on its 20.77% showing in 2019.

It governs Western Cape province and has promised a free-market agenda at odds with the ANC’s left-wing traditions.

DA chairwoman Helen Zille said all options were on the table, including allowing the ANC to rule alone as a minority government.

The radical leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), led by former ANC youth leader Julius Malema, was in fourth with 9.51%.

Malema and Zuma are former ANC members and some observers have suggested they would be more natural partners for the ruling coalition.

Large-scale corruption scandals

Other analysts said their demands might be hard to meet and the rift between Ramaphosa and Zuma – who has long been bitter about the way he was forced out of office in 2018 – too far reaching to mend.

MK said it would not negotiate with the ANC as long as Ramaphosa is its leader.

But Mbalula said that was “a no-go area”.

“No political party will dictate terms like that to us,” he said.

The ANC remains respected for its leading role in overthrowing white minority rule, and its progressive social welfare and black economic empowerment policies are credited by supporters with helping millions of black families out of poverty.

But over three decades of almost unchallenged rule, its leadership has been implicated in a series of large-scale corruption scandals, while the continent’s most industrialised economy has languished and crime and unemployment figures have hit record highs.

By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse

South Africans cast their votes on 29 May and the ANC’s has plummeted to just 40% from 57% in 2019. This means that the country will be governed through a coalition. The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) will officially declare the results on Sunday, 2 June in Midrand.

ANC OUTLINES ITS NON-NEGOTIABLES DURING COALITION TALKS

For the first time in history, support for South Africa’s liberation party the African National Congress (ANC) has declined to 40%. The party has always received over 50% of the total votes in every election since 1994.

Ahead of the elections political analysts and polls predicted that support would decline especially with the emergence of former President Jacob Zuma’s party. The newly-formed MK Party is now the third-biggest political party in the country as it received over 2.3 million votes.

There were rumours that Ramaphosa might be recalled, however, the party’s first Deputy General-Secretary Nomvula Mokonyane affirmed that Ramaphosa’s job is safe.

On Sunday, Mbalula held a briefing at the national results centre in Midrand to outline the party’s plans following the disappointing performance.

Mbalula said as the ANC heads to coalition talks it is non-negotiable that Ramaphosa remains the president.

“If you come to us with a demand that Ramaphosa must step down, that is not going to happen. We’ve got no such mandate and we’re not going to negotiate with political parties on the basis that we don’t want to talk to so and so,” he said.

RULING PARTY WILLING TO NEGOATIATE WITH THE MK PARTY

Mbalula also said the ANC has reservations about the Jacob Zuma-led MK Party but they are willing they’re willing to negotiate a coalition.

“If they want to work with us we will map out what we want to do but no political party will dictate terms like that to us as the ANC. That is a no go area. You come to us with that demand, forget!”

On the other hand, EFF leader Julius Malema said if there’s any party they can work and work properly with it is the ANC because when it is compromised it is not arrogant.

“If we were to go to elections in the next two years with the ANC sitting at 40%, for sure after they would get 15%. So, once the ANC has lost what they must know is that they are going to lose forever. So, don’t worry that’s why we prefer them because they will never grow,” the EFF leader said.

The EFF is already governing a number of metropolitan municipalities in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal with the ANC and other parties through a coalition.

The results ceremony will be at the Commission’s National Results Operations Centre at Gallagher Estate, Midrand, on Sunday, 2 June.

IEC TO ANNOUNCE ELECTION RESULTS

Millions of South Africans cast their votes on Wednesday, 29 May.

The historic 2024 National and Provincial Elections implemented the Electoral Amendment Act, which became law in June 2023, expanding the pool of contest for the National and Provincial Elections to independent candidates.

For the first time in history, support for South Africa’s liberation party the African National Congress (ANC) has declined to 40%. The party has always received over 50% of the total votes in every election since 1994.

Ahead of the elections political analysts and polls did suggest that the support would decline especially with the emergence of former President Jacob Zuma’s party.

As predicted, the newly-formed MK Party is now the third-biggest political party in the country as it received over 2.3 million votes.

In the 2019 elections the ANC received 57.5% of the votes, declining from 62.15% it achieved in 2014.

POLITICAL PARTIES FILE OBJECTIONS

From election day to when results started trickling in, various political parties in South Africa raised their concerns about some of the challenges voters experienced.

While other parties criticised the IEC some levelled allegations of vote rigging in favour of the current ruling party and the Democratic Alliance (DA) the official opposition.

On Saturday, MK Party leader Jacob Zuma warned the IEC not to declare the results amid the allegations.

Zuma said there is no rush, instead, the Commission should allow the parties to present their cases and deal with the matter at hand.

IS PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA’S JOB SAFE?

According to Reuters, despite the ANC’s disappointing result, President Cyril Ramaphosa could still keep his job. The party’s first Deputy Secretary-General Nomvula Mokonyane said Ramaphosa will not resign and will not be fired.

The publication further reported that a deal to keep the ANC in the presidency could involve opposition backing in exchange either for cabinet posts or for more control of parliament, perhaps even the Speaker of Parliament.

During a briefing at the IEC National Results Operation Centre in Midrand Julius Malema said they are going to demand the position of Speaker. He previously said he wants his deputy Floyd Shivambu the be the Fiancne Minister.

On the other hand, Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader Gayton McKenzie said they are also going to demand the Home Affairs portfolio during coalition negotiations.

Malema said this during a briefing at the results centre in Midrand. The Red Berets are no longer the third-biggest political party in the country, as support for his party declined to 9%. 

JULIUS MALEMA SAYS OPEN BORDER POLICY DIDN’T COST THE EFF VOTES 

South Africa is especially grappling with an exodus of immigrants from countries in the SADC region. 

South Africans have called for mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. Some are pinning the ever-increasing rate of crime, especially murder, rape, and kidnapping, on immigrants. 

Notably, the Department of Home Affairs is trying to tighten its asylum seekers and refugees laws.

During campaigns ahead of the polls, political parties urged voters to vote for them into power so that they could deal with illegal immigrants. 

During the briefing on Saturday, Malema said it is not true that the party’s stance on open borders cost them votes. He insisted that the Jacob Zuma-led uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party caused the EFF’s support to decline. 

Malema said they are unwilling to compromise a principle to please non-existent voters. 

“Our voters understand our message very well. Our open border policy is that we want Africa to be one, but you cannot do that before you develop the other economies of Africa,” Malema said. 

“These people don’t want to come here for the sake of coming here. They want jobs and greener pastures. We’re a big country, and we’ve got a huge capacity. So, we can develop their countries and develop out of that hugely,” he added.

Bookmark The South African website’s Elections 2024 hub for the latest news you need to know

As reported by The South African website, seven of the nine provinces at the time of publishing have concluded counting their votes.

Only Gauteng and the Eastern Cape are outstanding.

Meanwhile, as also reported by The South African website, this year’s elections saw the lowest ever percentage turnout of voters.

The ruling African National Congress (ANC) will emerge with the highest number of votes, but a radically reduced number to that received in 2019.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) will finish second with the newly-formed uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party in third and the EFF in fourth.

Election result in 7 provinces confirmed

North West became the seventh of South Africa’s nine provinces to finish the counting of votes late on Saturday.

As reported by The South African website, the Northern Cape was the first province to wrap up counting on Friday, followed by the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga and the Western Cape and Limpopo.

All 1 738 voting districts in the North West completed their counting late on Saturday evening.

The results were as follows:

LIMPOPO FINAL VOTING

WESTERN CAPE FINAL VOTING

MPUMALANGA FINAL VOTING

KWAZULU-NATAL FINAL VOTING

FREE STATE FINAL VOTING

NORTHERN CAPE FINAL VOTING

Meanwhile, former president Jacob Zuma and his newly-formed uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party have made the biggest splash in this year’s national election.

In terms of the overall picture at 09:15 on Sunday, 2 June, 23 269 of 23 293 voting districts have completed counting (99.9%) with a total of 16 244 507 votes counted.

The ANC leads the way with 6 446 989 votes (40.21%), followed by the DA (3 489 034 votes for 21.76%) with the MK party in third (2 339 111 votes at 14.59%).

The EFF has slipped to fourth place with 1 525 031 votes (9.51%).

As a reminder, in the 2019 elections the ANC finished top with 57.5% of the total vote.

Bookmark The South African website’s Elections 2024 hub for the latest news you need to know

As reported by The South African website, the Northern Cape was the first province to wrap up counting on Friday, followed by the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga and the Western Cape and Limpopo.

All 1 738 voting districts in the North West completed their counting late on Saturday evening.

The results were as follows:

LIMPOPO FINAL VOTING

WESTERN CAPE FINAL VOTING

MPUMALANGA FINAL VOTING

KWAZULU-NATAL FINAL VOTING

FREE STATE FINAL VOTING

NORTHERN CAPE FINAL VOTING

Meanwhile, former president Jacob Zuma and his newly-formed uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party have made the biggest splash in this year’s national election.

In terms of the overall picture at 08:45 on Sunday, 2 June, 23 269 of 23 293 voting districts have completed counting (99.9%) with a total of 16 246 180 votes counted.

The ANC leads the way with 6 447 136 votes (40.21%), followed by the DA (3 490 153 votes for 21.71%) with the MK party in third (2 339 187 votes at 14.59%).

The EFF has slipped to fourth place with 1 525 031 votes (9.51%).

As a reminder, in the 2019 elections the ANC finished top with 57.5% of the total vote.

Bookmark The South African website’s Elections 2024 hub for the latest news you need to know

As reported by The South African website, the Northern Cape was the first province to wrap up counting on Friday, followed by the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga and the Western Cape on Saturday afternoon.

All 3 216 voting districts in Limpopo completed their counting late on Saturday evening.

The results were as follows:

WESTERN CAPE FINAL VOTING

MPUMALANGA FINAL VOTING

KWAZULU-NATAL FINAL VOTING

FREE STATE FINAL VOTING

NORTHERN CAPE FINAL VOTING

Meanwhile, former president Jacob Zuma and his newly-formed uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party have made the biggest splash in this year’s national election.

In terms of the overall picture at 08:45 on Sunday, 2 June, 23 269 of 23 293 voting districts have completed counting (99.9%) with a total of 16 246 180 votes counted.

The ANC leads the way with 6 447 136 votes (40.21%), followed by the DA (3 490 153 votes for 21.71%) with the MK party in third (2 339 187 votes at 14.59%).

The EFF has slipped to fourth place with 1 525 031 votes (9.51%).

As a reminder, in the 2019 elections the ANC finished top with 57.5% of the total vote.

The country is on day three of vote counting after millions of people took to the polls on Wednesday, 29 May, to cast their ballots in the national, provincial and regional elections.

DR MUSA’S POST ABOUT JOHN STEENHUISEN ANGERS X USERS

With more than 97% of the votes counted and captured, the African National Congress (ANC) – which is the ruling party – has fallen short of a majority, receiving only 40% of the vote. In second place is the DA, while former President Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party is third.

Due to these results, the ANC will need to make a deal with other parties to form a coalition government.

Taking to his X account on Saturday, Dr Musa posted: “Phakama John Steenhuisen” – loosely translated “rise, John Steenhuisen”.

The former YoTV presenter’s post quickly garnered reactions from angry X users who are against the DA leadership.

DAMAGE CONTROL?

To try and defuse the situation, Dr Musa – who is married to Miss South Africa 2015, Liesl Laurie-Mthombeni – told netizens that he was just joking.

“Guys it’s not that serious hle. Kanti anidlaliswa?” he laughed.

Further doing what appeared to be damage control, he wrote: “The banter is dealing with you guys. Phakama Paul Mashable [Mashatile] DP.”

DR MUSA ACCUSED OF BEING A COLOURIST

However, netizens were not buying it as others accused him of being a colorist. This came after X users resurfaced Dr Musa’s old tweets about dark-skinned women.

“The history and context of your internalised anti-Blackness makes it tough to see any joke with this, particularly since you’re asking a supporter of genecide against brown people to “phakama”. You are gross! [sic]”

Zuma made a “grand entrance” at the IEC results centre on Saturday, just minutes before a briefing scheduled by the IEC on the finalisation of the results and objections from various political parties.

JACOB ZUMA WARNS THE IEC NOT TO DECLARE THE RESULTS

During the briefing, MK Party spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndhlela confirmed that they have submitted evidence (both audio and video) to the IEC to prove the alleged rigging.

Ndhlela said they are consulting with their legal team as they are contemplating an election re-run in the whole country. In addition, they also want a commission of inquiry into the election process.

Additionally, Former President Zuma warned the IEC not to declare the results. He said there is no rush to declare the results and people should not be provoked.

“Some say machines crashed. No machine crashed. Wrong things were being done on the machines. I hope whoever is responsible hears what we are saying…don’t start trouble where there is no trouble. Give political parties which I think are a majority a chance to present their cases, information and everything,” Zuma said.

“There’s a tendency in this country to ignore important matters. There are people who get arrested even if they’ve done nothing but there are people who commit serious crimes and nothing happens to them. Judges will say there’s nothing wrong,” Zuma added.

POLITICAL PARTIES LEVEL ALLEGATIONS AGAINST THE ELECTORAL COMMISSION

A number of political parties have launched a scathing attack on the IEC and have urged the Commission not to declare the results as they (the political parties) have cited discrepancies and alleged vote rigging.

On Saturday, African Congress for Transformation (ACT) leader Ace Magashule confirmed that they also launched an objection with the IEC along with 20 other parties.

Zuma’s long time ally said the alleged vote rigging seemed to target voters belonging to his party. He claimed that his party members’ ballot papers had disappeared from the ballot boxes, without any valid explanation from IEC officials.

Lastly, Democratic Alliance (DA) and Freedom Front Plus leaders John Steenhuisen and Pieter Groenewald also criticised the IEC. They said the Commission needs to be held accountable citing a number of issues voters experienced on election day.

This comes as the the ruling party’s support has declined to 40% in the 2024 National and Provincial Elections from 57% it achieved in 2019.

DA WANTS TO PREVENT ‘DOOMSDAY COALITION’

In an interview with Newzroom Afrika, Zille said the only way to defend the world-renowned Constitution is for the DA to grow, flourish and eventually become the biggest party in the country.

“Our job is to keep out a doomsday coalition of the ANC, MK Party and EFF. That’s what we have to prevent. We will put South Africa’s interest first,” she said.

Zille said it’s in South Africa’s interest for the DA to grow as that would prevent the country from falling into the hands of people who will destroy it.

When asked about what a doomsday coalition could mean, Zille said for instance Zuma was campaigning against the Constitution and wants to make amendments to the law which are questionable.

As previously reported by The South African, DA leader John Steenhuisen labelled the Red Berets as “political enemy number one” during an address to party delegates in 2023 when he was re-elected as federal leader.

Steenhuisen said the DA stands for exactly the opposite of what the EFF stands for.

“We stand for a non-racial democracy, respect for the rule of law and the constitution, a market-based economy with safety nets for the poor,” Steenhuisen said.

The party leader has repeatedly said that a potential union between the ANC and Malema’s EFF after the 2024 elections could be disastrous for South Africa.

“A vote for the DA in the Western Cape is for more jobs, to keep the lights on, and for a decent education and healthcare system. To keep the doomsday coalition between the ANC, EFF, and mercenary parties out,” Steenhuisen said in April this year.

SA ELECTIONS

The country is on day three of vote counting after millions of people took to the polls on Wednesday, 29 May, to cast their ballots in the national, provincial and regional elections.

With over 90% of the national votes captured on Friday, the African National Congress (ANC) – which is the ruling party – has fallen short of a majority, receiving only 40% of the vote. In second place is the Democratic Alliance (DA), while former President Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party is third.

Due to these results, the ANC will need to make a deal with other parties to form a coalition government.

MINNIE DLAMINI’S FEELINGS ABOUT THE ELECTIONS

Reacting on social media, Minnie Dlamini described the elections as “entertaining”. She further said: “Will the ANC coalate with MK or EFF? Will Ramaphosa step down? Will he try coalate with the DA? Interesting times…”

The Honeymoon actress has since been slammed for her post, as many X users wanted to know what the word “coalate” means as well as why she’d use “entertaining” to describe the elections.

“I’ve looked for the word ‘coalate’ on three different search engines. It doesn’t exist. Lala manje [sleep now] MaDlamini,” one netizen said.

“Same Minnie Dlamini that was making fun of Itumeleng Khune for not being able to spell an English word properly. What is ‘coalate’?” another said.

THE ITUMELENG KHUNE JOKE

The latter comment was in reference to the TV presenter’s joke about her ex-boyfriend, Itumeleng Khune.

During her Showmax roast in April this year, Minnie threw shade at the Kaizer Chiefs veteran goalkeeper for failing to spell the word “apologies” in a viral social media video.

ITUMELENG KHUNE AND MINNIE DLAMINI’S DATING HISTORY

Khune and Minnie dated from 2011 to 2014. She went on to marry TV producer Quinton Jones in 2017, with whom she shares a three-year-old son named Netha Makhosini Jones. The couple are currently in the process of a divorce.

On the other hand, Khune went on to date multimillionaire, Shauwn “MaMkhize” Mkhize’s stepdaughter, Sbahle Mpisane. After their break up, he married his wife Siphelele Makhunga in a traditional wedding in 2022. The couple shares two daughters.

The independent candidate received over 12,000 votes, earning a spot in the seventh place on the leaderboard.

On Saturday evening, authorities revealed that the province had completed its vote count.

Topping the polls is the uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) Party, led by former president Jacob Zuma.

DURBAN COMEDIAN DEFIES CRITICS IN KZN ELECTION RESULTS

According to eNCA, KZN had completed 100% of its vote counts as of Saturday, 1 June.

Clinching the Top 3 positions in the election results were the following political parties.

• MK – 44.9% 
• IFP – 18.28%
• ANC – 17.22%

Surprisingly, Durban comedian Thanasagren Moodley appeared in seventh place with over 12,000 votes. In a TikTok video, Moodley boasted that he had “defied all odds, silenced the critics and detractors, and instilled a sense of pride and achievement in his supporters and community.”

He continued: “I have surpassed established political parties such as the ACDP, Action SA, Patriotic Alliance, etc.”

Despite the unlikely achievement in the election results, Moodley claimed that the votes would not get him a seat in the KZN legislature, as he had campaigned for.

He added sarcastically: “That’s because the charous of Chatsworth and Phoenix voted empathetically for the party they complained bitterly about. They have now lost the right to complain about the said party”.

@karoucharou

♬ original sound – KC

PLANS TO START A NATIONAL INDIAN CONGRESS

Labeling himself as a “political force to be reckoned with” and the “new tiger in town,” Thanasagren Moodley revealed his ambitions to start the party “National Indian Congress.”

He said, “This party will challenge the 2026 local government elections. We will capture the wards and get more seats in the city council. The more seats we have, the more power we have to affect the change that we so justly need.

“Then we will challenge the 2029 national and provincial elections”.

He defiantly added: “Your biggest mistake will be to underestimate me.”

WHO IS KAROU CHAROU?

Who is Thanasagren “TR” Moodley, and what does he stand for?

“Karou Charou” is a comedian and community activist. 

He has a proudly pro-Indian agenda.

He started his election campaign in April.

According to The Witness, he grew up in Chatsworth and has a “heart for the community.”

He has seemingly filled a void left by the Minority Front, who pulled out of the political race due to financial constraints.

Bookmark The South African website’s Elections 2024 hub for the latest news you need to know

Returns from more than 99 percent of the polling stations used in Wednesday’s election showed the ANC had barely scraped past 40% of the vote, a spectacular drop from the 57.5% it won in 2019.

Litmus test for Cyril Ramaphosa

The shock result will prove a litmus test for Ramaphosa, a popular party figure with a reputation as a fine negotiator beneath his affable demeanour, political commentators say.

ANC, a now divided movement that led the nation out of white-minority rule and into democracy, will remain the largest party in parliament but will lose its majority, heralding choppy uncharted waters for the party once led by Nelson Mandela.

It will have to forge alliances to re-elect Ramaphosa at the end of the month and stay in power, with its hand forced into possible concessions with minnows it failed to beat in the election.

But Cyril Ramaphosa will first have to persuade his party’s all powerful yet split National Executive Committee to keep him in the job.

In 2022, his party lawmakers closed ranks around him at an impeachment vote over a scandal subbed “farmgate” that nearly cost him his job, when hundreds of thousands of dollars were reported stolen from a sofa in his country home.

He was also re-elected the ANC president that same year in a race that looked closer than expected.

“The party has rallied around him to a certain extent. There have been very high level comments saying ‘we are not going to recall Ramaphosa’,” Christopher Vandome, senior research fellow at the London-based Chatham House think tank, told AFP.

‘Too many skeletons’

The 71-year-old former trade unionist and mines boss came into power in 2018 as a graft-busting saviour after the corruption-tainted tenure of predecessor Jacob Zuma.

A fluent speaker of all of the country’s 11 official languages, he took up anti-apartheid activism while studying law in the 1970s and spent 11 months in solitary confinement in 1974.

Preferred by Mandela as his heir, he stood alongside the liberation hero when he walked out of jail in 1990. But the farmgate case dealt a massive reputational blow to the wealthy businessman and for many the storied ANC has become synonymous with corruption.

Ramaphosa has denied any wrongdoing.

South Africans remain vexed by a prolonged water and electricity crisis that has put a drag on Africa’s most industrialised economy with crime and unemployment rates running high.

Yet the lack of a formidable successor could keep Ramaphosa in power, author and analyst Susan Booysen said.

“The irony is that there are no real alternatives in the ANC at this point,” she told AFP, adding that names that were being floated had “too much baggage, too many skeletons.”

“In how I read the signals at this stage is Ramaphosa is surviving despite the dismal and disastrous performance of the ANC,” Booysen said.

Calls to quit

With no unifying candidate to take over from Ramaphosa, the choice of a bedfellow could prove the next hurdle.

Data from the Independent Electoral Commission showed the centre-right Democratic Alliance (DA) held second place with 21.71 percent, slightly up on its 20.77 showing in 2019.

But it was not the DA that dealt the decisive blow.

In third place was former president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party on 12.6 percent, a surprise score for a party founded just months ago as a vehicle for the former ANC chief.

The ANC could have no choice but to co-opt the DA into a national coalition government, analysts say, describing it as Ramaphosa’s best bet for survival.

“The DA will want to keep Ramaphosa in charge and would not want the other alternatives,” said Vandome.

Booysen agreed.

Miraculous canvassing

“The possible coalition partners don’t pose an alternative, don’t bring an alternative, charismatic, dynamic, popular president.”

Zuma’s MK has vowed to play hard ball, ruling out any partnership talks if Ramaphosa remained at the helm of ANC.

“We will engage with the ANC but not the ANC of Cyril Ramaphosa,” spokesman Nhlamulo Ndhlela said.

Ramaphosa’s future nonetheless hangs fragile, threatening to follow the footsteps of his predecessors Zuma and Thabo Mbeki, who did not complete their tenures and were forced out by the ANC.

“That man did very well for the ANC. He led from the front,” said ANC deputy secretary general Nomvula Mokonyane, defending Ramaphosa’s record.

“He did miraculous canvassing, criss-crossed the country. All those that are doing any speculation don’t know the ANC.”

By Garrin Lambley © Agence France-Presse

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As reported by The South African website, the Northern Cape was the first province to wrap up counting on Friday, followed by the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga on Saturday afternoon.

All 1 572 voting districts in the Western Cape completed their counting late on Saturday afternoon.

The results were as follows:

MPUMALANGA FINAL VOTING

KWAZULU-NATAL FINAL VOTING

FREE STATE FINAL VOTING

NORTHERN CAPE FINAL VOTING

Meanwhile, former president Jacob Zuma and his newly-formed uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party have made the biggest splash in this year’s national election.

In terms of the overall picture at 17:20 on Saturday, 1 June, 23 204 of 23 293 voting districts have completed counting (99.62%) with a total of 16 140 669 votes counted.

The ANC leads the way with 6 399 896 votes (40.18%), followed by the DA (3 474 935 votes for 21.81%) with the MK party in third (2 325 420 votes at 14.60%).

The EFF has slipped to fourth place with 1 511 151 votes (9.49%).

As a reminder, in the 2019 elections the ANC finished top with 57.5% of the total vote.

Bookmark The South African website’s Elections 2024 hub for the latest news you need to know

As reported by The South African website, the Northern Cape was the first province to wrap up counting on Friday, followed by the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday afternoon.

All 1 811 voting districts in Mpumalanga completed their counting late on Saturday afternoon.

The results were as follows:

KWAZULU-NATAL FINAL VOTING

FREE STATE FINAL VOTING

NORTHERN CAPE FINAL VOTING

Meanwhile, former president Jacob Zuma and his newly-formed uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party have made the biggest splash in this year’s national election.

In terms of the overall picture at 17:20 on Saturday, 1 June, 23 204 of 23 293 voting districts have completed counting (99.62%) with a total of 16 140 669 votes counted.

The ANC leads the way with 6 399 896 votes (40.18%), followed by the DA (3 474 935 votes for 21.81%) with the MK party in third (2 325 420 votes at 14.60%).

The EFF has slipped to fourth place with 1 511 151 votes (9.49%).

As a reminder, in the 2019 elections the ANC finished top with 57.5% of the total vote.

Bookmark The South African website’s Elections 2024 hub for the latest news you need to know

As reported by The South African website, the Northern Cape was the first province to wrap up counting on Friday, followed by the Free State on Saturday afternoon.

All 4 974 voting districts in KwaZulu-Natal completed their counting late on Saturday afternoon.

The results were as follows:

FREE STATE FINAL VOTING

NORTHERN CAPE FINAL VOTING

Meanwhile, former president Jacob Zuma and his newly-formed uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party have made the biggest splash in this year’s national election.

In terms of the overall picture at 17:20 on Saturday, 1 June, 23 204 of 23 293 voting districts have completed counting (99.62%) with a total of 16 140 669 votes counted.

The ANC leads the way with 6 399 896 votes (40.18%), followed by the DA (3 474 935 votes for 21.81%) with the MK party in third (2 325 420 votes at 14.60%).

The EFF has slipped to fourth place with 1 511 151votes (9.49%).

As a reminder, in the 2019 elections the ANC finished top with 57.5% of the total vote.

Bookmark The South African website’s Elections 2024 hub for the latest news you need to know

As reported by The South African website, the Northern Cape was the first province to wrap up counting on Friday.

All 1 586 voting districts in the Free State completed their counting late on Saturday afternoon.

The results were as follows:

NORTHERN CAPE FINAL VOTING:

Meanwhile, former president Jacob Zuma and his newly-formed uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party have made the biggest splash in this year’s national election.

In terms of the overall picture at 17:20 on Saturday, 1 June, 23 204 of 23 293 voting districts have completed counting (99.62%) with a total of 16 140 669 votes counted.

The ANC leads the way with 6 399 896 votes (40.18%), followed by the DA (3 474 935 votes for 21.81%) with the MK party in third (2 325 420 votes at 14.60%).

The EFF has slipped to fourth place with 1 511 151votes (9.49%).

As a reminder, in the 2019 elections the ANC finished top with 57.5% of the total vote.

In South Africa, a political party needs to achieve 50%+1 in order to govern and what the decline means is that the ANC would need other political parties in order to govern the country.

ANC SUPPORT DECLINES TO 40%

Ahead of the elections political analysts and polls did suggest that the support would decline especially with the emergence of former President Jacob Zuma’s party. As the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) continues with vote counting, it is clear that support for the ruling party has declined.

In the 2019 elections the ANC received 57.5% of the votes, declining from 62.15% it achieved in 2014.

Following the results political parties have rejoiced that the ANC has lost its majority, especially in KwaZulu-Natal which was once its stronghold.

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema said they are happy that they finally achieved their mission in this lifetime which was to bring the ruling party below 50%.

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen said they were pleased with the results and they serve as a springboard for the 2026 local government elections.

“We look to take all metros away from the ANC and to complete the electoral demolition of the ANC’s majority wherever it exists,” he said.

IS PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA’S JOB SAFE?

According to Reuters, despite the ANC’s disappointing result, President Cyril Ramaphosa could still keep his job. The party’s first Deputy Secretary-General Nomvula Mokonyane said Ramaphosa will not resign and will not be fired.

The publication further reported that a deal to keep the ANC in the presidency could involve opposition backing in exchange either for cabinet posts or for more control of parliament, perhaps even the Speaker of Parliament.

During a briefing at the IEC National Results Operation Centre in Midrand Julius Malema said they are going to demand the position of Speaker. He previously said he wants his deputy Floyd Shivambu the be the Fiancne Minister.

On the other hand, Patriotic Alliance (PA) leader Gayton McKenzie said they are also going to demand the Home Affairs portfolio during coalition negotiations.

Malema held a media briefing at the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) National Results Operation Centre in Midrand on Saturday, 1 June.

EFF WANTS TO FORM A COALITION WITH THE ANC

During the briefing, Malema said if there’s any party they can work and work properly with it is the ANC because when it is compromised it is not arrogant.

“If we were to go to elections in the next two years with the ANC sitting at 40%, for sure after they would get 15%. So, once the ANC has lost what they must know is that they are going to lose forever. So, don’t worry that’s why we prefer them because they will never grow,” the EFF leader said.

The EFF is already governing a number of metropolitan municipalities in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal with the ANC and other parties through a coalition.

Additionally, Malema admitted that the emergence of Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party impacted the party’s performance especially in KwaZulu-Natal.

As previously reported, many political analysts had predicted that support for the EFF, Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the African National Congress (ANC) will decline because of the MK Party in Zuma’s home province.

Malema insisted that there is no bad blood between the EFF an the MK Party. They are willing to work with them.

At the same time, Malema said they are the happiest because they have achieved their mission in their lifetime, and that mission was to bring the ANC below 50%.

Speaking at the Results Operation Centre in Midrand, Helen Zille said also said the Jacob Zuma-led party is eating away votes from all parties, least of all the DA. 

“So, this is an ethnic identity vote and it mobilises across a particular ethnic identity group very powerfully. We’ve seen it in KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga, and we’ve seen it to some extent in Gauteng,” she said. 

Furthermore, Zille also emphasised that ethnic tribalism voting is not good for South Africa’s constitutional democracy.

‌The former Western Cape Premier said it means people aren’t voting on principles, values or policies. However, ‘they are voting on ‘this is my identity,’ and in a democracy you need people to take values and principles, party manifestos, policy and governance track records seriously.”

HOW ARE THE PARTIES PERFORMING?

With 99% of votes counted, these are the top five political parties based on the election outcome:

• ANC – 6 367 023 (40%)
• DA – 3 436 331 (21.7%)
• MK Party – 2 317 389 (14.65%)
• EFF – 1 498 845 (9.47%)
• IFP – 613 787 (3.8%)

Magashule said this as he visited the IEC National Results Operation Centre in Midrand on Saturday, 1 June. His party has received just over 18 000 votes spo far as over 98% of votes have been counted.

ACE MAGASHULE ACCUSES IEC OF VOTE RIGGING

Addressing the media, Magashule said they have evidence of the “raw” results and they are not the same as those on the IEC system.

He alleged that the vote rigging seemed to target voters belonging to his party, claiming party members’ ballot papers had disappeared from the ballot boxes, without any valid explanation from IEC officials.

“We have taken videos and we have sent them to the IEC. In Fourways, Johannesburg where my son who is also our staff member voted the result is zero yet six of them voted,” he said.

Magashule also ruled out the possibility that his son may not have voted for him.

The former Free State Premier said had it not been for alleged rigging he believes they would have won in many districts, especially in Gauteng and other parts of his home province.

PARTIES LAUNCH OBJECTIONS

Freedom Front Plus leader Pieter Groenewald who was also the Results Operations Centre said they have joined other parties who have launched objection with the results.

Groenwald said for instance, people came to vote and then they only received one ballot and they didn’t receive the other two. I know for a fact where I was in Clarksville, eight people, they only received the national ballot and they said you cannot vote.

He said they had to put up a fight and got them luckily back.

“There were thousands and thousands of people who were actually disenfranchised and that is not acceptable for the electoral commission to say it’s their system. It’s not the first time we experience these sort of problems.

“Firstly, in 2021 we experienced exactly the same problems. In fact, in the two days of special votes, there was a problem with the system. Why didn’t they fix it?” Groenewald asked.

In addition, the Jacob Zuma-led uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party has also called for votes to be recounted also citing possible rigging and unhappiness with the IEC.

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As reported by The South African website, special voting outside of South Africa took place prior to voting in Mzansi.

Voting was held at 111 foreign missions around the world.

Overseas results are now displaying on the IEC dashboard.

There were a total of 58 802 registered voters abroad.

A total of 39 116 votes were cast, of which 32 were spoilt, leaving 39 084 valid votes.

The turnout percentage was 66.5%.

The top 10 parties were: