News
Your local
Newspaper
Enter your email below and we'll send you a one-time pin to log in.
President Cyril Ramaphosa delivers a speech after the official announcement of SA’s 2024 election results at the IEC National Results Operations Centre in Midrand on 2 June 2024. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla) Super slow queue at Welgemoed voting station. ‘Computers are slow’ - at this rate it may take more than a day for all voters to make their mark… I wonder if this is a local issue or a broader problem
We had a good experience early this morning. Long queue, but breaking it up into 3 sections worked well: but it was properly managed - someone literally keeping an eye on the flow. It was super efficient. We were in and out in about 35 minutes max. I was super impressed with the IEC at our polling station!
Same here when we went to Pinelands High to vote. As for the slow voting, the voting computers probably just needed a charge.
It seemed quite local. The station where I am registered was running very well. Computers were up and running. Ample booths. The required three boxes with somebody making sure that you knew which paper went in which box. 2Km down the road, at another station, the computers failed and (I'm told) there was only one box.
I hope all of the nonsense parties disband after the elections, what a waste of paper and ink, we need to get that ballot down to A5 size :)
True this issue of using politics as a job hunting or business must end. The next parliament must come up with better legislation. Took my time reading some names that I have never heard. Maybe it's employment creation.
But it has to be a job, or at least offer comparable benefits. Otherwise those who aren't rich but are capable will look at a proper career instead of trying to be an elected representative. Remember that, anywhere there's a system of elected officials, you can have a well paid job one week, be voted out the next. If the UK weren't paying MPs a good salary, there'd be loads of Rishi Sunaks and no Angela Rayners.
Everyone wants to be a chief. A turn at the feeding trough. Mucks things up terribly.
Too true. The 3rd ballot paper was a waste of time and caused delays and confusion. People are not stupid and know that whatever an independent campaign campaigns on is not going to happen. We should also have three percentage cut off for PR and a hefty non refundable deposit to take parties with no mandate out of the equation.
For sure, there needs to be some sort of cutoff for allocation of seats. I think 3% is a bit high, I would put it at about 100 000 votes or maybe 1%
Many democracies call for a minimum number of signatures collected beforehand before they are even able to register. If we took say 100,000 as the minimum, they’d all fall away beforehand. If it wasn’t so troubling it would be a joke.
SARA leader claimed to have obtained 120 000 signatures when forming her party. By 7pm last night, about 85% of count complete, her party had 3000 votes,
If you are fed up at the waiting time, remember your countryfolk in London each queued for over 5 hours ...
I only queued for 35 minutes in London
People have been queueing for well over 12 hours at this point
Extremely slow moving queue as my local voting station as well, barely moved in 2 hours.
My wife was around 7 am at fourways voting station but people were allowed to vote as per alphabetical ranking.. people who arrived after her were allowed to jump queue.. took her 3.5 hrs.. that doesn't look logical
Sometimes what seems like a good idea beforehand does not work out that way in practice. ;-)
Exactly the same experience in Somerset West. My wife and I were in 6th and 7th spot from the entrance yet stood for over 3.5 hours whilst the IEC staff kept bringing people from the back of the queue. They told us that there was a problem for anyone whose surnames didn't start with A-E or K-M. Also couldn't advise if or when we'd be attended to. Once inside, utter confusion and tempers were heated up. IEC staff shouting like school teachers at voters and no leadership. Like a crowded sweet shop with people pushing and jumping into what I suspect were supposed to be queues. Disgusting that IEC could appoint people who are clearly incapable, especially the principal officer. Worst experience ever and to see officials shouting at elderly voters and telling everyone that "if they have a problem, take it up with the IEC" was shameful. The IEC CEO ought to be fired and lose any possible bonus which I'm sure he won't have to fight for.
The staff are often schoolteachers...SADTU
Or up to 8 hours in the Hague, the Netherlands.
Our three ballot papers all went into one box. @Ferial Haffajee did you really put yours into different boxes?
We had two boxes at my voting station in the CT metropole.
We had three. One for each colour ballot
In Nottingham Road, our three ballot papers also went into one box.
Super fast queue at Florida Hoërskool, Joburg. Queues were divided into three by surnames and the other two groups did have to queue about ten minutes, but there was no queue for my group. I was in and out in five minutes. Very impressed at how friendly and helpful the officials were.
Had a good experience voting this morning. However, I have heard that at Summerfield Primary in Boksburg they have had massive issues! Apparently tablets were not working which has led to waiting times of 5 hours and up. They say they are hoping to have all the voting there done by midnight! Surely that is not right. Why are there no contingency measures for problems like this. How many people are robbed of their right to vote in this instance? Not everyone can afford to stand there for the whole day while they sort out the mess
My only question is what blithering halfwit thought splitting queues alphabetically was smart?
Well, logistically it makes sense. How would you have done it? There's a voter's roll for each station, in which each voter gets a line-through after they voted. Physically having one stack of pages with everyone in it takes much, much longer to go through for each voter from the queue. Dividing up the voter's roll by alphabetical ranges makes this process exponentially faster, the more divisions you have, if there's an even distribution of surnames. That's just finding the voter on the roll. The challenge after that is that there should be enough (human) resources for each queue to prevent a backlog when doing the rest of the process.
No it doesn't. Names are not uniformly distributed through the alphabet in any way. Splitting alphabetically can only slow processing, not improve it.
Splitting alphabetically might make sense IF they recognize that - and this is also area dependent - some letters appear far more often than others as the start of surnames.
You've hit the nail on the head. I found the staff were also very inefficient compared to my previous experiences
I agree I found the IEC staff not well trained at all and like rabbits in the headlights. This definitely accounted for the slow queues
Voting took 30-40mins some with surnames A-M came and went in like 5mins in Cape Town.
My wife and I were told that our names did not appear on the computer. However our names did appear on the physical voters roll. We had also previously checked that our names appeared on the IEC website. We were eventually allowed to vote (all three ballots). This is most disconcerting. I wonder how many were turned away or only given a National Ballot? We stood our ground and argued. How many didn’t?
It is disapointing that a part time hobbyist like Dawie Scholtz is giving better election coverage than DM
Dawie is not a part time hobbyist but a (very) professional data analyst.
One can only conclude that one of you is Dawie's father and the other is ... his China?
Voting was generally slower than 2019. My family and friend anecdotes. Kommetjie 3 hrs through most of the day. Got quieter late afternoon - 45 minutes. Hout Bay 6 hours! Observatory 4 hours. Nazareth (cape town Central) 3 hours. Per other comments there were 3 ballot boxes - should have been one each per colour (pink, orange, blue).
Poor planning. After 90 minutes of queuing, I was called to the front, because of age. When I left at 21h40 there was still, at a guess, a queue of about 300 people still waiting to vote. There were long queues from 7h00 in the morning. It took me ca 2 minutes to complete the voting process. There were only two teams marking and dishing out voting lists. At two votes every two minutes, 60 votes could be cast per hour. With 14 hours of voting this mounts to 840 votes in the allocated time. It is clear that the station could not cope with the numbers all day. The point is that this can only be ascribed to poor planning. The number of registered voters was a known. I simple calculation could have shown what to expect. So why such a poor performance?
I was a party agent. One of the things I did was to track votes per hour. We had two lines. Speed on my line varied from 80 votes per hour to 105 per hour. The other queue was about 10% faster. At say average, over both queues and over al parts of the day, of 100 votes per hour, 2 queues would process 2800 votes. In fact we processed 2700 votes, so my observed average about right. BUT many people gave up as they did not have the patience to stand in the queues. We lost at least 300 to 500 votes. If this was replicated across the country that would explain the drop in voter participation from about 65% in 2019 to 58% now in spite of IEC claiming increased voter registration numbers
Good experience at George voting station. Well organised and efficient. Took me less than 15 minutes. But couldn't find Zuma's name amongst the hundred or so other employment applicants on the ballot paper. When I asked why he was apparently missing, someone suggested that perhaps he was having a shower.
It looks as tho' the PA has taken all the GOOD Party and other tiny party's votes.
After reading all these comments I wonder if anyone thinks like I do. Confusion and distraction are 2 traits we learnt back in the army days. Now I'm sitting here waiting for the final results to confirm my thoughts I've had about this election. The big question I ask myself and cannot find it is, why did Cyril go off camera when he made his visit to Putin. We all know what class of coders live in Russia. Or is this just me being the conspiracy theorist I'm known to be. Hmmm....... let my prediction not happen. ;-) I'll check back on Sunday to comment again, hoping I was wrong.
Yea looks like I don't even have to wait till Sunday. The cards are on the table and ALL the newspapers I've been reading for intel were wrong..... or were they? Poverty is at 60% according to the world bank. Unemployment is 10% higher than 30 years ago, Reuters reports. A 39-year-old woman in Soweto explained that even though she was deeply unsatisfied with the ANC, she would continue to vote for them because they used to do good things. If there weren't so many dependent on the ANC for grants, Im sure the 47% would have thought differently. Business Tech reports that people would rather take the grants than go look for jobs they won't get. Explains why the votes won't work. So what am I missing here?
No one knows what you are trying to communicate in your rambling post by pointing out random tidbits.
Why is Mantashe in ANC regalia?
His ANC shirt is probably the only shirt that he has that did cost more than the monthly wage of the average worker in SA so he didn't want to appear to be too show offy. Alternatively he could be trying to create the impression that he was actually working.
Even thieves have a "work outfit"?
Everyone wants to be a king, no one wants to serve. This is why we have nonsense political parties in abundance
We didn't vote for the DA because of the senior leadership, they stink. The feeling is that white voters only voted for the DA because it is the best of a very bad bunch and our best bet at a strong opposition. Voters are extremely disappointed that the DA was unable to capitalise on the opportunity this election presented to increase its national share by at least a third. Also the way they let the PA eat their lunch nationally, Zille and Steenhuizen should fall on their swords.
Agreed, time for new blood and new ideas and some energy to promote a positive image of the possibility of change in South Africa, not just anti-ANC messaging. That's tired, it's been flogged to death by the DA for years now and hasn't worked. In 30 minutes the other day I came up with a better strategy than the DA and I guarantee it would've worked a treat!
DA are up about 10% from last year. They were aiming for 25% and will get about 23. But if Maimane was fired for losing ground in an election, the axe should have fallen on Steenhuisen long before this election. My conclusion: Maimane wasn't overthrown because of performance in an election. That's just what was put into the public domain.
Are you guys kidding. the DA was just about the only party not to lose votes this election, aprt from MK.
Yebo. 1%. Just 1%, Alan. And that 1% does not even take them back to the 2014 ballot. Pathetic.
“the best of a bad bunch” - are you proposing that we should be voting for the worst of the bad bunch. If you don’t like the leadership of a particular party, then sign up as a member of the party and participate in the process of selecting the top brass, don’t stand and shout from the sidelines.
D A without Steenhuizen would be better. But real talented leadership and talent abhors the stench of politics. A politician is like a septic tank, thriving on flimsy paper and excrement.
There was no computer involved in voting at panorama school in Weltevreden park, old fashioned ruling off role. Went very quickly. However the iec official marking off the roll had a poor command of alphabet beyond the initial,letter. A poor reflection on the education system.
Shouldn’t Nomvula Mokonyane be with MK as Zuma’s bag lady.
Watch this space... You are going to see HUGE number of ANC municipal officials resign just after the elections, forcing municipal by-elections. The demise of the ANC only just begun.
So, I wonder where we go from here? Will the ANC carry on (arrogant) business as usual, or will heads roll - surely the likes of SG Fixfokol and Chair 'Kill jobs' Mantashe must be perilously close to being on the sharp end of the night of the long knives that will hopefully happen? Angie 'Verwoerdian Education' Motshekga, Joe 'NHI gaan jou naai' Phaahla too? Thank goodness we're rid of Gordhan and Patel from their destroyed public enterprises and trade & industry portfolios. Sindiswa 'let me tell fibs about building roads' Chikungwa should be on the chopping block, both Ramokgopa's (Planning and Electricity), VP Paul 'Half a million lunch' Mashatile should never be anywhere near power ever. Will the ANC have the guts to reform in the wake of this kicking they got, or will they double down and grind on with as many of the old guard as possible?
Achmat has achieved a lot without being in parliament, indeed there are many in parliament who would be envious of his record and his reputation. So this is not the end of the road for him, and he will still be a spirited activist. But this does make you wonder why there was such a call for independents to be allowed to stand - nobody seems to be interested in voting for them. They maybe make more sense at local government level. Then a ward can vote in an independent who they know won't promise one thing then have to kowtow to a whip.
The poor results will be because there are too many itty-bitty parties that do not have a snowballs hope of getting anywhere near to the top. A much bigger, unifying party is needed to unseat the ANC. C'mon South Africa, you can do much better than this one-party-state of affairs after 30 years.
ActionSA's lunch was eaten by the PA. They are really just the PA with a very thin veneer of being reasonable, and that's what did for them in the end. Despite their attempts to reposition themselves, ActionSA's appeal was really to xenophobes, and McKenzie is a more overt xenophobe with his talk of mass deportation and pulling immigrants out of ICU beds with his own hands. Xenophobes like that kind of talk. In fact we can probably pinpoint the moment the PA started winning this two horse race - Kenny Kunene's thuggery in demolishing a building said to be inhabited by immigrants without proper process and with his own hands on the controls. All the vigilantes took notices of that.
Jeesh, so many scenarios... CR17's head must be on the chopping block. Going to pay the price for his "inaction" and trying to appease the RET faction. That would immediately make an ANC/EFF/MK coalition possible. Add in PA, ATM and a few other one seat parties and that coalition has 66% plus which means current constitution is done for. Judiciary, done for. Unlikely scenario is that CR17 somehow retains his position and a DA/ANC coalition. But... with the cadres focussed on keeping their snouts in the trough very unlikely scenario.
" low turnout traditionally benefits the incumbent." Right, but when the incumbent party is an enemy of The People the opposite happens.
People seem to be disappointed that the electorate has traded in the ANC for the MK, which is basically like for like. But that is not a bad thing. In fact, I'd say it's a step in the right direction. People felt beholden to the ANC, they could not let go of the myth and their own nostalgia. They don't have that problem with all these other parties. With these parties, it's all about what they can do. Hello, accountability. I don't think we will ever again see a party that does not perform being elected for 2 consecutive terms, let alone the 30 years that the ANC was afforded. Now parties have to perform and that's a good thing.
"From the Western Cape IEC ROC: Just before the 9pm deadline for official complaints about the vote count, 17 parties and independent candidate Zackie Achmat submitted an urgent objection to the IEC in terms of Section 55 of the Electoral Act." From what I can see and from what I have observed - objections are based on anecdotal "evidence" nothing more, aka sore losers syndrome - I observed election in my voting station over 3 days. Nothing to see here - smaller parties results were abysmal. At my voting station, there was only one other party observer/agent. ARA. He and his relievers were there for whole of Wednesday, and ARA got three votes, probably only the observers/agents I doubt whether IEC will entertain many of these objections, and will certainly not do a total recount of Western Cape.
We were fortunate in that we had special votes and went on the Tuesday to Durbanville High School. However, despite the low number of special voters, it took us about 30 minutes: the team was disorganised and complained that their tablets were not working. Our home carer stood in the queue in DeNoon for two hours and then gave up. Friends stood in the queue for seven hours in Kraaifontein but stuck it out and eventually voted - such fortitude!
As an overseas voter (unable to vote in Asia, no voter station) I am shocked at the low quality of DM coverage. DM graphs, tables and reports are not worthy of a primary school production. Totally inadequate information, superficial reporting and zero meaningful analysis. And I pay for this? You need to do way better. Thanks to leaked email from the managing editor the I previously complained about administrative hassles, I became aware that the DM attitude is that actually it is no accountable in the way a "wholly commercial enterprise" has to react. Members are merely "strange" if they raise issues about value for money.
Donald Zuma?
The ANC has been paralyised for years whilst pandering to the RET faction. This faction has now left the party (of their own free will) and one can only hope that this gives the ANC and Ramaphosa the courage to move to the right (Literally and figuratively). If they do so convincingly and immediately then maybe parties like the DA can consider coaltions (On DA terms as partners not subordinates). We now know where the dangers for SA lie and it is time to neutralise them. It never ceases to amaze me how parties like the EFF and MK with their modest % of the vote, believe that they can call the shots. As for all the other rats and mice? Good grief!
The last thing SA needs now is more display of Mbalula's "briefs"!
I sense that the powerful leader from the finance sector, being courted, is Trevor Manuel - a wise and powerful force, because whomsoever the ANC ends up, in some form of relationship with, will need a cast iron grip on the Treasury, have the confidence of the markets, as we, as a country, seek to recover from the at least R1.5 trillion rand hit to our economy, our national infrastructure, over the last 15 years. This equates to R100 billion, for each and every year, that OUGHT to have gone into growing our economy, creating jobs, funding NHI, building schools, and all the other social developments that would have helped to stabilise society. The new Government must immediately recognise, acknowledge and accept this huge financial hole, and in owning it, immediately hold to account all the corrupt rats and mice, from the highest to the lowest, be they presently in MK, the ANC, or EFF. They must be prosecuted and definitely nobody "fingered" by the Zondo Commission, must be in the new governing structure. Ramaphosa's appeasement, being guided by holding the ANC together, has been a terrible disaster, and it is the height of irony, that those he most worked to protect, have now played the role of "et tu, Brute?". Clean start, an honest, constitutionally structured governing body that needs to roll it's sleeves up, get on with re-building the economy, based on pragmatism and realism, using our best skills, as we seek to climb out, from the deep quagmire we are now in.
Someone should remind Mbaks that if you mix water and oil you get an emulsion. Emulsions are good things like milk, mayonnaise, and acrylic paint. Often a lot more useful than the sum of their parts...
At this type of attrition rate, the ANC are a spent force come two elections time.
This is, exactly, where the ANC have it all wrong; "He adds this is a mandate to continue the project of renewal and revitalisation which the party began six years ago under President Cyril Ramaphosa after being dogged by corruption scandals." The project of renewal/revitalisation is internal to the ANC, the job in hand is responsible government for the country, which they are incapable of because of the factions dividing over what renewal and revitalisation means to it’s executive and MPs. The ANC constitution hamstrings the governance of this country. Politics here is archaic, lost in previous centuries as indicated by this year’s General Election. A GMU is the only option that works for this country, fingers crossed.
Congratulations to all South Africans from here in New York. Whilst i appreciate the many challenges facing the country, you have used the power of your vote to demand positive change. My best wishes to the country and it’s people.
If the politicians care about South Africans then the ANC, DA, IFP and all the smaller parties(excluding the EFF and MK) should form a government that is inclusive, not just in name. Cabinet posts and other meaningful positions should be given to each of the parties. We can do it if we really try.
Can we put in a 5% minimum or switch to single member districts? Will the the ANC and the DA form a coalition?
At my little voting station, we had 3 boxes and assistance in getting them into the correct box-us colour blind people had difficulty with the pastels! My sister voted in a large district and they only had one box for all the papers.
