THE Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) announced the results of the municipal elections at the Durban ICC this morning (6 August).
Present were many dignitaries, including KZN Premier, Willies Mchunu, members of the IEC, representatives from various political parties, families and the media.
Speaking at the event, provincial electoral officer, Mawethu Mosery, said it had been a very long journey for the commission, which had been planning and preparing for the elections for two-and-a-half years.
He thanked everyone involved in facilitating transparency of the elections and said the IEC was encouraged by the voter turnout.
“We held many meetings with party liaisons, and looking at the minutes from last Friday to 5 August, we held 17 meetings, every other three hours, to solve problems in the environment. We kept the media along with us to ensure we shared every detail to ensure all citizens were part of the process,” he said.
He thanked the stakeholders and roleplayers who took part in the elections and applauded everyone involved. He said there were challenges but these didn’t reflect on the performance of the province.
“The province had 80 key staff who planned and worked to ensure we had a good election in the province. Their families didn’t see them for two weeks as they were here at the centre to make sure the country had a good election,” he said.
Mosery thanked the special task team in charge of infrastructure who ensured people had access to voting stations, toilets and water, as well as the police and security forces in the province who ensured the elections were secure and peaceful.
“Indeed, we had a peaceful election and I also thank the party leaders who cooperated and supported us throughout the elections. They encouraged free political activity in the province and there was no intimidation of voters. We had elections with an outcome and we are ready to assert this outcome, and ensure the elected officials work with citizens to improve communities. We wish the almost 2000 councillors the best in their new roles as they work on the promises they gave to the people who voted for them,” he said.
Manager of electoral operations, Ntombifuthi Masinga, said it had been a long 18 months and she was proud to say the Metro was one of the first to finish collating results.
“We thank the electoral priority committee which was formed in September, which managed to maintain stability during the elections. We met every month until the beginning of the year, then it was bi-weekly and then daily, with midnight WhatsApps going backwards and forwards,” she said.
Masinga gave details on the elections, and stated that out of 5, 411 237 registered voters, 3, 333 308 turned up to vote on 3 August.
“This was 61.84 per cent, which is above the national average of 58 per cent, so KZN has done it again,” she said.
There were 61 036 (1.84 per cent) spoilt ballots and 46 482 (1.40 per cent) special votes.
“Our home visits were very successful, but the figure was low on 1 and 2 August at the voting stations,” said Masinga.
There was a total of 1 846 seats available and 9 064 candidates. The number of candidates who did not get seats was 7 396, and 1 668 candidates were disqualified.
The top three leading parties in the province which won seats were the ANC with 1 076, the IFP with 455 and the EFF with 64. Municipalities where parties received 50 per cent or more of the seats were represented by the ANC which won 31 municipalities and the IFP which won six municipalities.
She said the election of the local municipal representatives to district councils will still be undertaken, which will be from 11 to 25 August.
“I just want to lastly thank the IEC staff for all they have done,” she said.
