After votes tallied: parties weigh in
With all the votes counted and the final general election results announced, Review asked some of the political parties in Limpopo what their thoughts were on voting procedures and the outcome
POLOKWANE – With all the votes counted and the final general election results announced, Review asked some of the political parties in Limpopo what their thoughts were on voting procedures and the outcome.
The ANC retained its top spot as ruling party in Limpopo with 1 149 350 votes, which represents 78,60% of the provincial votes. The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) are now the official opposition in the pro-vince, having snatched the honour from Cope with 156 982 votes, 10,74%.
The DA received 94 724 votes, 6,48%, placing them in third place, while Cope received 12 573 votes, 0,86%, placing them fourth.
This means the ANC secured 39 seats in the Limpopo Legislature, EFF six, the DA three and Cope one.
Johan Willemse of the VryheidsFront Plus and his wife, Corrie, said they were happy with the hard work that the IEC put into the elections. “There were a few problems, but we have found that the IEC was more than willing to play open cards and provide all the information needed to ensure the parties knew where they stood,” Corrie said.
EFF commander-in-chief, Julius Malema said the party accepted the results, and that they staged a successful campaign.
“The elections were highly contested because of the new kid on the block (EFF). Let’s accept defeat, but history was made in South Africa. EFF members based in Alexandra should also accept the results. Many people thought that I would kneel down and cry in front of them. The EFF is here to stay. Some people thought that Malema was going to be history when the ANC expelled me,” he said.
Faith Muthambi of the ANC said this was the hardest election ever for the ANC.
“Voters are no longer using their hearts when they vote, but are now making a more educated vote and using their heads. For me, this multi-party democracy of ours is so exciting and it only proves that hard work during campaigning shows in the voters’ support for the ANC,” she said, adding that the way forward would include better communication between the party and the voters.
“We must improve on the short comings we had in the past.”
Kganchi Makgala, the provincial spokesperson for the African People’s Convention (APC) said they appreciated all voters who came out to support them.
“We are bothered by some issues at the voting stations, which include campaigning on election day.
“We look forward to an open discussion on this matter in the future.”
Segapu Mahapa of Azapo said they found incidents of intimidation clouding an otherwise cheerful election day.
“In one instance, a grandmother was given a T-shirt and forced to wear it. She was told who to vote for. Azapo fears that minor future incidents of campaigning on election day may turn into full on campaigning if the IEC does not take a stand now,” he said.
Cope leader in Limpopo, Patrick Sikhutshi, said they too accepted defeat, adding that every party member was disappointed with the results.
“We called an urgent congress provincial committee (CPC) on Saturday to reflect on the election results. The CPC found that negative publicity destroyed the party and lead to the poor results. The perceived internal battles also contributed to the poor results. We need to go out and strengthen party structures. We were in a better financial position than before, but we did not campaign enough. We know that we have over 15 000 members in the province,” he said.
“We are not happy with the way some parties conducted themselves on election day. They handed out T-shirts and food parcels to entice voters.”
DA Limpopo leader, Jacques Smalle, and DA Limpopo caucus leader, Desiree van der Walt, said they found incidents where voters were turned away from voting stations.
“Some cases were reported where a voter was given three ballot papers to vote, provided that they voted for the ‘right’ party.
“This could all be avoided if IEC officials took their training seriously and acted on complaints as soon as possible,” Van der Walt said.
Smalle said he felt that the reason the voter turn-out in Limpopo was lower than in previous elections was because voters had lost confidence in their respective parties.
He added that poor service delivery also played a large part in voters not wanting to vote.
