The African Transformation Movement (ATM) has criticised the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) for not postponing the announcement of the election results.
Despite objections from numerous political parties, the IEC released the national and provincial election results yesterday.
The ATM lodged 200 objections related to last week’s elections.
National Spokesperson Zama Ntshona emphasised the significance of these objections, stating, “Even if it was one vote captured wrongly and you have 24 000 voting districts (VDs), that translates to 24 000 votes. Let alone if you have 10 votes per VD that have been captured incorrectly, that amounts to 240 000 votes, and that could mean five seats for a political party in question. So this is not just an issue of petty politics.”
The IEC reported receiving 579 complaints before finalising the results. Political parties had until 6:00 p.m. on Friday to lodge their objections.
2024 Elections | Analysis on election results objections
IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya addressed the media at the National Results Centre in Midrand, Gauteng, noting that the number of complaints could increase as the IEC processes all received complaints.
Moepya outlined six general themes among the objections: incomplete result processes when objections were filed, third-party allegations about vote discrepancies, allegations under oath about unrecorded votes, questions about seat allocation criteria, issues related to the conduct of the elections, and concerns about the conduct or training of electoral officials.
The IEC authorised 10 window edits to align slips with captured results, leading to potential reversals on the results leaderboard. Additionally, the IEC ordered recounts in 24 instances, communicating with the Chief Electoral Officer, his staff, and implicated political parties.
“The effects of opening edit windows are that you will see the results on the leaderboard reversing and going forward. When we are at 100% and one edit window is opened, it will reverse the effect of that result being finalised. The Commission reassures you that in undertaking this process, it will act without fear or favour or prejudice,” Moepya says.
The IEC will be ready to announce the final election results on Sunday.
We have received 579 objections: IEC
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The African Transformation Movement (ATM) on the Request to Postpone the Announcement of the 2024 National and Provincial Elections pic.twitter.com/nUjjTQIVgB
— African Transformation Movement (@ATMovement_SA) June 2, 2024
