#Elections2024: Initial KZN provincial results show steep rise of MK, diminished support for ANC

Former president Jacob Zuma and his adopted uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party have so far drawn huge support from KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) residents.

At the time of publication on Friday morning, MK led KZN by around 273 000 votes, ahead of the African National Congress (ANC), Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and Democratic Alliance (DA).

Around 1.05 million votes had been counted and captured, with the smaller rural stations reporting results first as is typical.

The eThekwini metro and Pietermaritzburg (Msunduzi) have not yet been reported in large numbers..

Of KZN’s 5.73 million registered voters, some 2.33 million were drawn from those two voting districts alone and will heavily sway the results, so all current reporting is preliminary.

Projections for national voter turnout currently sit at around 60%, representing the lowest turnout in any of South Africa’s six free elections since 1994.

Those projections fly in the face of initial reactions that voter turnout was at an all-time high because of long lines, which have instead been blamed on myriad issues within polling stations.

To follow live tracking from the IEC, visit their election map here.

Local results

KwaDukuza-specific results are still outstanding, but Wards 6, 22 and 30, encompassing Ballito, Salt Rock and Sheffield have reported their initial count.

The DA won the national ballot convincingly at all five local polling stations at the Ballito Library (Ward 6), Sizani Combined School and Salt Rock Library (both Ward 22), and Townsend Hall and Compensation (both Ward 30).

In Ward 6, the DA won 2 932 (83%) of the 3 532 valid votes cast, followed by MK at 145 and the ANC at 79.

Over 81% (3 214) of the 3 955 voters at Sizani voted DA, followed by the Economic Freedom Fighters at 153 and MK at 141.

The Salt Rock Library reported the highest percentage of DA support at over 83%, attracting 1 949 of the 2 337 valid votes. MK claimed 93 and the ANC 66.

At Townsend Park, 1 948 of the 2 383 valid voters put their X next to the DA, while MK claimed 112 and the ANC grabbed 108.

Compensation reported the lowest margin of victory for the DA at a still-dominant 70%, where 891 of the 1 268 voted DA.

It was tight in the second-place race, with the ANC and MK record 124 votes.

The Courier will update the rest of KwaDukuza once results become available.

National results

As things stand on Friday morning, the ANC is projected to retain the majority of votes, but it has so far been a catastrophic election for the ruling party.

The ANC currently sits at just under 42% of the national vote, a huge underperformance from their 57.5% at the last national elections in 2019, itself a much lower number than what they had previously enjoyed.

If there is not a huge turnout in support of the ANC in the metros, the party will likely earn less than 50% of the vote, forcing them into coalition talks.

Elsewhere, the DA is currently running as the second-largest vote-getter this year and looks likely to retain its position as the official opposition unless they are part of an ANC coalition.

At the time of publication, the DA was at 23.53% of the national vote (up from 20.8% in 2019) while MK is currently running in third, overtaking the EFF as the country’s third biggest party.

MK had some 11.1% of the vote, ahead of the EFF at 9.54%.

The Western Cape-focused Patriotic Alliance has made some inroads into DA support in the province, surpassing the IFP to earn 2.7% of the national vote to date, good for fifth.

The IFP, VF Plus and ActionSA are the other parties currently above 1% of the vote.

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