South Africa's election triumph
23 April 2009
South Africa's fourth democratic election went off smoothly on Wednesday, despite poor weather in some places and a few logistical glitches, with analysts predicting a record voter turnout and an overwhelming majority victory for the African National Congress (ANC).
'Atmosphere of 1994'
Business Day reports that, barring one minor incident in Ulundi, KwaZulu-Natal, the election went off without violence or intimidation."There was characteristic good humour and patience as voters put behind them months of acrimony and foreboding about the country's political future," Business Day reported.
"In spirit and atmosphere, it was a day reminiscent of April 27 1994, and augured well for the new era under president-to-be Jacob Zuma, who will be inaugurated on May 9."
While the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) says it is not yet clear how many of South Africa's 23-million registered voters turned out on Wednesday, political analysts have predicted a record turnout in the country's most keenly contested election since 1994.
The IEC has thanked South Africans who waited patiently in long queues to cast their votes.
Logistical glitches
IEC chairperson Brigalia Bam said that some voting stations had experienced shortages of ballot boxes and papers, but that, "with the cooperation of political parties and electoral officials, most of these problems [were] resolved by redistributing ballot papers."
The election results are expected to be announced some time between Saturday and next Wednesday, depending on the number of objections the IEC receives from political parties.
By law, the commission cannot announce the results for 48 hours after voting has closed. The IEC is also constitutionally obliged to release the results within seven days of election day.
ANC in the lead
With more than six million votes counted by midday on Thursday, the ANC was in the lead with 4 200 203 votes, followed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) with 1 135 725 votes and the recently established Congress of the People (Cope) with 526 377 votes.
The Inkatha Freedom Party was lying in fourth position with 187 479 votes, followed by the Independent Democrats (ID) (88 369 votes), the United Democratic Movement (78 560), the Freedom Front Plus (62 174), and the A Party (1 045).
Election analysts were predicting that the ANC would retain its two-thirds majority in South Africa's Parliament, with the Democratic Alliance (DA) remaining as the official opposition.
In the provincial elections, the results received by lunchtime indicated that the ANC was winning the race in all nine provinces, with the exception of the Western Cape, where the DA had pulled ahead with 467 143 votes to the ANC's 259 906 votes.
An interesting scenario was playing out in KwaZulu-Natal as Mangosuthu Buthelezi's IFP fought for its survival in the province perceived to be its stronghold. By midday, the ANC had secured around 63% of the vote in the province, with the IFP trailing at around 21%.
SAinfo reporter and BuaNews
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