The election war was fought and in the end one victor was pronounced on 10 May, all in the name of democracy.
The African National Congress (ANC) won 63% of the votes nationally, 53.6% in Gauteng while the DA got 30.8% and new kid on the block Economic Freedom Front
received 10.3%. The ANC celebrated victory throughout the night in Joburg CBD and other provinces except the Western Cape. Losers were left to lick their wounds, regroup and live until the next election in 2019. While opposition leaders accepted defeat their members in Alexandra cried foul citing indiscretions in the election process and application of principles of democracy – tolerance, peace, credibility and free and fair expression of the will of the people.
Most of their complaints emerged on 7 May with the Economic Freedom Front, Democratic Alliance and Inkatha Freedom Party saying they would lodge official complaints of misconduct by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) and the victorious party. Part of the complaints involved the use of political party regalia and display of party material close to voting centres and these were also endorsed by Justice Mahapela Lehohla of the Electoral Commissions of the SADC countries which has preliminarily declared the elections as having been free and fair.
Other allegations were the discovery of dumped special ballot papers and an unaccredited ANC official acting in official IEC capacity at Women for Peace Poling Centre, an IEC official being summarily dismissed following a complaint of possession of identity documents without credible explanation at the Roman Catholic Church Poling Centre, ballot boxes being sighted in a police vehicle at an IEC sub centre which shares premises with ANC offices even though they operate from different offices, kidnapping of ANC and IEC officials at the same place by the IFP and the discovery of empty ballot boxes at some homes when vote counting was still in progress.
Tensions having escalated in what could have been a platform for true expression and consolidation of a growing democracy resulted in toyi toyis, arrests and running street battles into midnight on 9 May between disgruntled members of the EFF, IFP and DA despite police and the military firing stun grenades and rubber bullets to disperse them and protect property and lives. By then damage which could have been avoided had already been done. A recently upgraded clinic was petrol bombed, several office windows were destroyed at Thusong Community Centre, officials were traumatised from alleged kidnapping and hopefully have been counselled, forty people were arrested and will appear in court 12 May and luckily threats to burn down Alexandra magistrate’s Court was averted.
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