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Voting will not be extended, says IEC
IEC's Mamabolo addresses accusations of delays, pledges to serve all voters in line, as political leaders converge at the ROC.
IEC CEO Sy Mamabolo briefs media at the Results Operations Center in Gallagher Convention Centre, Johannesburg. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/The Citizen
Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) commissioner Sy Mamabolo said there would be no provision for a second day of voting.
Mamabolo was responding to concerns that Wednesday’s elections could spill over to Thursday.
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View MapMalema accused IEC of deliberate delays
EFF leader Julius Malema had also accused the IEC of deliberate delays that led to the development of long queues, with some people complaining about being on the line for eight hours and more.
“There are no deliberate delays on the part of the commission; we want to assist everybody who is in the queue and take their ballot. We have no plan for the second day of voting; we have never had such a plan, so voting will conclude until everybody who is in the queue is given an opportunity,” he said.
Political party leaders had started to gather at the Results Operations Centre (ROC) in Midrand, where a leader board was set up to show the results as they trickled in.
ALSO READ: ‘Not even the cold could keep me away’: Tshwane voters brave chilly weather and long queues
Leader board will reflect results as they come in
Mamabolo said it was not clear which provinces would be the first to send the results, but he said the leader board would start reflecting results as soon as audited votes start coming in.
He said in past elections, the results would come in at around 1am but because of the multiple ballots, it would take longer this year.
“Once the captured results have been audited and there are no exceptions related to the result, you will begin to see the votes reflecting on the leaderboard,” he said.
Mamabolo said the commission would look into the matter of a house in Pretoria belonging to a political party leader being used as a voting station.
Fake news reports and attacks
The IEC had raised concerns about fake news and attacks on the integrity of the commission and the elections.
ALSO READ: ‘Smooth sailing’ in Nelson Mandela Bay, but some issues at other EC voting stations
However, political parties such as the ANC said they were confident in the IEC and its work.
