ELECTION NEWS - The national and provincial elections on Wednesday was what South Africa was about this week. With the voting process generally going well across the country, people are now keeping an eye on the numbers as the ballots are counted and excitement is still tangible as we wait for the final results. 

A sense of excitement was in the air at voting stations across Lawaaikamp and Thembalethu on election day as members of different parties sang and danced in support of their parties until the closing of voting stations at 21:00. 

Voting started on time at 07:00 and the queues were not long during the morning, but in the afternoon people started to come out in numbers to cast their votes. No problems were reported at any voting station in these areas and all political parties respected each other throughout the day. 

The presiding officers of all the voting stations confirmed that everything was calm and that no problems have been experienced. Police presence was maintained outside and inside the voting stations to ensure that the election took place in a safe environment.

Preliminary results
By the time of going to press at 13:00 on Thursday, the Democratic Alliance (DA) was leading the Western Cape provincial polls with 56,28 % followed by the African National Congress (ANC) with 27,95% and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) with 3,21 %. The newly formed Good party, which many believed would be the biggest threat to the DA, was fourth with 3,04 %.

In the national polls the ANC was leading with 55,86 %, followed by the DA at 24,83 %, while the EFF was at 8,88 %. Another party which surprisingly showed steady improvement was the Freedom Front Plus (FF+) which was behind the EFF with 2,96 %.

Although things went smoothly in Themablethu and Lawaaikamp, there were reports across the country of people voting twice, shortages of ballot papers and some voting stations are said to have closed late.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) confirmed that an elderly voter died at a polling station in Elandspoort in Tshwane.

Analyst
Idinga spoke with Prof Bheki Mngomezulu, a political analyst from the University of Kwazulu Natal, who commented on the ANC's chances of reclaiming the Western Cape. His opinion is that the ANC will never win back the province. "The internal fighting of the ANC during the Ebrahim Rasool and Mcebisi Skwatsha years weakened the ANC. Their leadership fights cost the ANC and I don't think it will recover from that," he said.

While many people thought that the EFF could become a major role player or even the official opposition, Mngomezulu is not surprised at their weak performance at the polls. He said the party can fill stadiums, however these people come to the rallies for other reasons - such as for T-shirts. 

"You can't really rely on young people and student votes, as many of them are not of voting age and some haven't registered to vote, and some students study in provinces where they are not registered to vote. This can be a major challenge."

Mngomezulu said while bad weather kept many from going to the polls, other issues such as service delivery also played a role. "People are tired, and they start distrusting political parties' promises because services are not delivered after election day. However, people must use their vote to vote against those who fail to deliver." 

He also said having election day on a Wednesday was another factor. "It would have been better if it was on Friday so that people wouldn't have to go work the next day. This would give them more time to travel back to their homes after voting."

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