Over 50% of the votes cast in South Africa elections 2024 have been officially declared, state media reports.
11,715 voting districts have finalised their votes, out of a total of 23,293 countrywide, with the African National Congress (ANC) so far leading in seven provinces, reports South Africa’s SABC.
The Democratic Alliance’s (DA), however, is leading in the Western Cape with 52.4% of the votes.
The new uMkhonto weSizwe Party continues to lead in KwaZulu-Natal at 45.4%.
Disqualified votes
Meanwhile, the number of invalid votes has been growing as vote counting continues.
With 48% of voting districts completed, the number of spoiled ballots is just over 86,500.
Ballots are deemed invalid if the papers were improperly marked.
The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) also warned citizens that anyone found to be in possession of ballots will face criminal prosecution.
This is after an IEC-branded ballot box went missing in transit from the voting station at Matamzana Dube School on election day.
IEC General Manager Granville Abrahams says, “The commission is required to retain ballot boxes for a period of six months before disposing of them. So we are quite eager to get back that ballot box so that it can go into storage. It was apparently transferred on an open vehicle.”
“And by the time we got to the destination, we discovered that that ballot box was gone. But I wish to emphasise that those votes have been counted and they have been recorded on the results,” adds Abrahams.
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