Elections 2024 – The counting begins
The voting is officially over. There are no queues left in most of the voting stations. The counting will commence soon, and they are expecting to release some of the results before midnight tonight.
The spokesperson for the Mpumalanga IEC, Thanduxolo Chembeni, said the voting is officially closed, and only those who were in the queues at the cut-off time will be allowed to vote. On-site security services will ensure that all voting and processes have been concluded safely.
The counting process will be as follows:
The ballots will be counted at the voting station where they were cast. Party agents, independent candidate agents and observers will monitor the entire counting and results process and will be present at all times. Sealed ballot boxes will be opened and emptied.
ALSO READ: Lowveld voting currently running smoothly
Each ballot paper is unfolded facedown and checked for the Electoral Commission security stamp. Stamped ballots are considered valid. Unstamped ballots are invalid and are not counted toward the results.
All valid ballot papers are grouped according to colours representing the type of election (national, regional and provincial). The ballots are sorted into piles according to votes for each party and each candidate. The ballots are counted and bundled into packs of 100. The results are counted for each party or candidate.
ALSO READ: Special voting off to a sour start in Mpumalanga
The results for the various parties or candidates are reconciled against the number of ballots received and the total number of ballots cast at that voting station.
Results slips are signed by the presiding officer, independent candidate agents and party agents. A copy of the results slip is posted on the door of each voting station. The other copy is transported to the local Electoral Commission office where it is scanned and captured in the results system. The results are also verified by independent external auditors.
