The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) will finally declare the official results of the 2019 general elections at the national results operations centre in Tshwane on Saturday evening. Of the country's more than 22,000 voting districts, 42 still remain to be captured. The African National Congress' (ANC's) majority stands at just over 57%. #ElectionResults ANC 57.4%; DA 20.7; EFF 10.7%; IFP 3.3%; FF+ 2.3%. About 40 poling station in Gauteng still to capture their results. BB pic.twitter.com/ZHMasgGZoD — EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) May 11, 2019 On Friday night, IEC commissioner Janet Love said the statistician-general had handed over a list of 1,020 voting stations to form the sample for an election audit. 27 parties have served the commission with a lawyer's letter after raising complaints about the voting process.<doc-sep>The final results of the 2019 national elections are in, with the ANC securing a solid majority for another term governing the country. Despite the victory, however, the final outcome of the election represents the worst performance from the ANC post-1994. In the 1994 election, the ANC won the election with 62.7% of the vote, with the National Party sitting in the opposition benches with 20.4%. By 1999, the ANC’s majority increased to 66.4%, with the Democratic Party securing only 9.6%. In 2004, the ANC’s 69.7% majority would reflect the ruling party’s best performance to date – while a fledgeling DA would secure 12.3% of the vote. In the 2019 election, the ANC has fallen significantly from those highs, securing 57.5% of the vote – followed by the DA with 20.8% (the party has also seen a drop) and the EFF at 10.8%. The results did not come as surprise, as this is the outcome many analysts and pre-election polls predicted – but there was also a clear underestimation in support for the DA, and many overestimated the EFF’s rise as well. Predictions vs outcome Since the start of 2019, several research groups and data outlets posted poll results, providing a snapshot of how the country was feeling to any given party. While pre-election polls are not predictions per se, they are used to establish underlying trends among the electorate and give a sense for how things will go for the political parties contesting the vote. Across all of 2019’s polls, the key trend that emerged was that of a big drop in support for the ANC, which ended up being true in the final tally. While outlets varied in the number of votes the governing party would get (ranging between 50% and 60%), the polls averaged at 56.4%. The party ended with 57.5%. For the DA, the polls also predicted a major drop in support for the party – however, this loss of support was widely overestimated. The polls averaged around 18.5% for the DA, while the party emerged with 20.8% in the final count. While this is still a drop in support, it is not as large as many had anticipated. When it comes to the EFF – which contested their second national election – the polls saw a much larger jump in support than the outcome presented. Pre-election polls pegged the EFF’s support base between 9.5% and 15%, averaging at 11.5%. The final outcome was much closer to the average than some of the individual polls, which were expecting the final vote share around 14%. The EFF emerged with a 10.8% outcome. Among the pre-election polls, the Intellidex poll emerged as being the most accurate. The poll was not a survey or a snapshot of a registered voter sample, but rather a representation on the thoughts of economists, investors and other players in the market. The IRR and Ipsos also presented adjusted data for low-turnout scenarios. With a turnout at 65% in 2019, the pre-election polls overestimated the low turnout scenarios entirely, putting the expected turnout at 70%. Provincial Polls run by the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) paid particular focus to key provinces as well, with results showing a possibility of two hung provinces (Gauteng and KwaZulu Natal) where the ANC would lose its majority, while the DA would retain the Western Cape. The final outcome showed that only the Western Cape projection was correct – though the race in Gauteng was definitely close. Read: South African national election 2019 final results<doc-sep>Citizen reporter and ANA Follow the action of Wednesday's big polls to decide who governs the country and each of its nine provinces for the next five years. The final national numbers have all come in. You can read that report here. The ANC has managed to just cling to an outright majority in Gauteng with 50.19%. The DA will once again be the official opposition, with the EFF improving its share of the vote to take third. Earlier: The IEC has sent out an advisory to announce that elections will be announced this evening at 6pm-7pm. The commission says it will not accede to the deadline of 27 parties who have taken legal action against the commission over what they say are irregularities in the voting process, deeming it “not fair and free”. The parties demanded an independent auditor to be appointed by 11am. This has not happened, with the IEC saying this is not a statutory requirement in law. The IEC’s chief electoral officer, Sy Mamabolo, said on Saturday that even if a few people had engaged in criminal conduct to vote or attempt to vote more than once, that would not have been enough to truly influence the results on a “great scale” and would not have “impugned” the “integrity of the results”. They would oppose any urgent interdict application, Mamabolo said. “The commission is disappointed by the conduct of some parties which have breached the Code of Conduct and disrupted the orderly operations within the National Results Centre,” said the IEC’s statement. Earlier yesterday commissioner Nomsa Masuku said the parties could take any action they wished after they promised legal action. The Nelson Mandela Foundation, which was part of the observer missions, had also said the concerns were not substantial enough, but if the parties felt strongly about the concerns, they could raise them with the courts. The IEC said they would receive a list of 1,020 voting stations from the Statistician-General “which will form the sample for an independent technical assurance process that looks at the voting”. The IEC also received questions on the arrests made for alleged double voting, as deputy police commissioner Fannie Masemola said the people that were arrested had not voted but had attempted to. He said “there are other people on social media still claiming to have voted more than once, we are still looking for them”. “We are pleading with you to assist us in identifying them so that we can have more work with them.” Commissioner Janet Love said “in the electoral act it is a crime to attempt to vote more than once.” “We have received info from people and parties about people identified for having done that. Love said the mere attempt to have done so, whether you succeeded in doing so or not, was punishable. “The Electoral Commission would like to thank the South African Police Services for the rapid way in which they have acted against voters alleged to have voted twice or attempted to vote more than once.” Count almost done Meanwhile, it is clear the ANC has won the national majority vote with most of the total number of ballots cast, taking 57.5%. While they are significantly down from the 62.15% they won in the last election, it is a solid majority and a strong mandate for Cyril Ramaphosa’s presidency. The ANC also just crept over the 10 million votes mark on Saturday morning. The party was followed in the results by the DA, which dropped, and the EFF, who grew significantly from last election’s 6.35% to grab nearly 11% of the national vote. The IFP, which gained about 3.38% of the vote, jumped from the 2.4% it gained in 2014. With most of the votes counted in Gauteng, the ANC looks poised to just have enough for a majority win. The ANC also won all the provinces except the Western Cape, where it is the opposition again. The DA retained its Western Cape majority, and is the opposition again in the Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, Free State and Gauteng, while the EFF is the opposition in Limpopo and North West yet again, while taking that role from the DA in Mpumalanga. The IFP has regained its status as the official opposition in KwaZulu-Natal, snatching it from the DA. The election has seen both of South Africa’s largest parties losing ground to smaller, more established parties, with numerous new parties making little to no impact on the national mindset. All of the EFF, IFP, FF+ and ACDP saw gains as some disenfranchised voters chose to cast their votes away from the previous favourites. The election can also be considered a good one for The African Transformation Movement (ATM) and Patricia De Lille’s newly established GOOD party, who each secured enough votes for seats in parliament. Earlier: The Independent Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) has written to protesting political parties for breaching the code of conduct after they launched a protest at the national operations centre over grievances over electoral processes. The commission briefed media on developments in vote counting on Friday evening. “The commission is disappointed by the conduct of some parties which have breached the Code of Conduct and disrupted the orderly operations within the National Results Centre,” IEC CEO Sy Mamabolo said. More than 30 smaller political parties on Thursday raised their objections with the IEC over alleged electoral irregularities in Wednesday’s general election, citing certain instances of double voting at voting stations. They threatened to interdict the election and its results if the IEC does not appoint an independent auditor by 11am on Saturday. IEC Commissioner Janet Love said the matter has since been handed over to lawyers and was sub judice. At least 97,33 percent of votes had been counted late Friday. Mamabolo said the outstanding 779 outstanding voting stations could finish by midnight. At least 433 of the outstanding voting stations are in Gauteng. ”We will work through the night today and make sure we do not go to bed without concluding the process. This has been a mammoth responsibility, however it gives us pleasure as the commission that we are about to conclude what the constitution demands from us,” Mamabolo said. On arrests linked to voting irregularities, police deputy commissioner Fannie Masemola said 22 people were arrested for attempting to vote twice. They included two brothers in Hluhluwe in KwaZulu-Natal who, although they still had indelible ink on their thumbs, demanded that they be allowed to vote again. Police were called in and they were arrested. “It is important to note that all had not voted a second time, they attempted to do so and were discovered and arrested,” Masemola said. President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to arrive at the results centre at 6pm on Saturday. Earlier: Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo said at a media briefing at the IEC results centre in Pretoria that Gauteng still has 433 voting districts to conclude, but that counting is expected to be finished at midnight. The IEC’s Glen Mashinini added that their plan is to declare the results as soon as they can. The IEC’s lawyers are still busy studying the legal challenge launched by 25 smaller parties, who have threatened to interdict the election and its results. Earlier: A group of 25 disgruntled smaller parties have threatened to interdict the election and its results if the IEC does not appoint an independent auditor by 11am on Saturday. The final results are meant to be announced tomorrow, but the group plans to interdict them if necessary. As many as 35 parties have expressed their unhappiness with the electoral process. Earlier: The police have announced that a total of 24 people have now been arrested in the so-called double voting scandal that has plagued these elections. The voting count is now heading towards being 95% complete. A video showing two people, a journalist and a woman, were arrested after footage was posted claiming they had cast votes more than once, the police statement says.<doc-sep>
More to follow…refresh your browser for the latest. Last updated: 13:30, 11 May 2019. On 8 May 2019, South Africans headed to the polls for the country’s sixth democratic elections. Despite the highest number of voters ever registered, the turnout plummeted to its lowest ever. There has been consternation, too. Read our analysis here. From ballot papers running out, scanners malfunctioning and allegations of double voting, more than half of the parties contesting the 2019 elections have vowed to take action against the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). Nonetheless, after a lengthy counting and auditing process, the results are out. Well, almost. The IEC first said they expected to reach the 90% counting mark by 21:00 on Thursday, but that turned out to be widely ambitious. Then, they expected everything to be concluded by midnight on 10 May. After that clock struck, there were a few carriages yet to turn into pumpkins. But the completion was at nearly 99% by 00:12 with Gauteng, one of the most hotly contested provinces, having the largest number of voting districts outstanding, the total vote count completed was 91%. The rest of the results were pretty clear, however. They’re not official just yet – that only happens once time has been allowed for everyone to raise their objections. Nationally, however, nothing will change. ANC win re-election, but lose support South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s ruling ANC won re-election on Friday with an absolute majority in parliament, results showed, but with diminished support, complicating economic revival and anti-corruption efforts. The results, published by the electoral commission, are the party’s worst national showing since Nelson Mandela led it to victory in the first multi-racial polls after apartheid ended in 1994. Results released by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) showed the ANC’s closest rival, the main opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), but only marginally. The Economic Freedom Fighters, founded six years ago by former ANC youth leader Julius Malema, was in third place, Note: The information below will be updated with the full results list once ratified by the IEC. Where provincial results were still outstanding, it is noted as such and you can follow the live leaderboards for those provinces by clicking through below. National results Winner: ANC Top five:ANC, DA, EFF, IFP and VF+. These parties earned a seat in parliament Seats will be confirmed on Saturday, 11 May 2018. Provincial results North West Winner: ANC Top five: ANC (61.87%), EFF (18.64%), DA (11.18%), VF+ (4.32%) and UCDP (0.48%). Northern Cape Winner: ANC Top five: ANC (57.54 %), DA (25.51 %), EFF (9.71 %), VF+ (2.68 %) and COPE (0.86 %). Mpumalanga Winner: ANC Top five: ANC (70.58 %), EFF (12.79 %), DA (9.77 %), VF+ (2.43 %) and BRA (0.72 %). Limpopo Winner: ANC Top five: ANC (75.49 %), EFF (14.43 %), DA (5.40 %), VF+ and ACP (1.42 %). Kwa-Zulu Natal Winner: ANC Top five: ANC (54.22 %), IFP (16.34 %), DA (13.90 %), EFF ((9.71 %) and NFP (1.57 %). Eastern Cape Winner: ANC Top five: ANC (68.74 %,) DA (15.73 %), EFF (7.84 %), UDM (2.60 %) and ATM (1.52 %). Free State Winner: ANC Top five: ANC (61.14 %), DA (17.58 %), EFF (12.58 %), VF+ (3.96 %) and ATM (0.78 %). Gauteng Winner: ANC Top five: ANC (50.19 %), DA (27.45 %), EFF (14.69 %), VF+ (3.56 %) and IFP (0.89 %). Western Cape Winner: DA Top five: DA (55.45 %), ANC (28.64 %), EFF (4.04 %), GOOD (3.01 %) and ACDP (2.66 %).