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IEC declares elections 'free and fair'

Chris Bathembu

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23 May 2011

With a record voter turnout of more than 50 percent, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) on Saturday declared the 2011 municipal elections free and fair.

IEC Chief Electoral Officer Pansy Tlakula said 97% of voters surveyed by the South African Human Research Council after the poll said they found the elections to have been free and fair.

The voter turnout for the election was 57.6%, with spoilt ballots standing at 1.89%. More than 200 000 volunteers were deployed by the IEC across the country to help run the election, as 234 municipalities including eight metropolitan councils were up for grabs.

Clear lead for ANC

The results showed a clear lead by the African National Congress (ANC) with 62.0% of the votes and 5 633 council seats nationally, followed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) with 23.9% of the votes and 1 555 council seats.

The ANC will control 198 councils including seven metropolitan areas. The DA won an outright majority in the hotly contested Cape Town metro clinching 61% of the votes and 135 of the 221 seats in the municipality. The ANC got 73 seats, while the Congress of the People (COPE) managed to win three.

The National Freedom Party (NFP) managed to wrestle control of two local municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal, despite being formed three months ago. The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) managed to secure five seats in its stronghold of KwaZulu-Natal.

COPE did not win a single council, but they did however win about 236 seats in municipal councils across the country.

IEC chairperson Brigalia Bam announced the official local government election results at the IEC's Results Operation Centre in Pretoria on Saturday, following Wednesday's poll.

In terms of the law, the IEC has to announce the results within seven days after an election.

'Will of the people'

Speaking after the announcement, President Jacob Zuma said South Africans "should be proud to have stayed on course since 1994" with regard to democratic norms and systems.

"We can boldly declare that our democracy has matured in only 17 years ... the regular elections that we hold prove our commitment to the clause in the Freedom Charter that says no government can just claim authority unless it was based on the will of the people," Zuma said.

He said the voter turnout of 57.6% had defied predictions of voter apathy among South Africans.

Servants of the people

Zuma went on to congratulate all political parties who have won seats in the elections, and thanked them for the peaceful nature they conducted themselves during the elections.

Free political activity was an important barometer of political maturity and political tolerance in any society, he said.

"From this moment on the lives of our new councillors will change. You have to accept that you are servants of the people and that you account to all the people in your wards.

"You are accountable to people who voted for you and those who did not vote for you because councillors must serve all the South African people."

Source: BuaNews