Cape Town - Despite a warning by former president Jacob Zuma at the weekend not to release officials results, the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) last night went ahead and declared the 2024 general elections free and fair.

IEC chairperson Mosotho Moepya said despite receiving 579 objections and complaints by 21 parties, it emerged “triumphant” in the face of challenges, including attempts to undermine its credibility, social media attacks, disinformation campaigns, “unwarranted allegations”, and ”acts of intimidation”.

“As a nation, we have emerged triumphant, having conducted these elections with the utmost transparency, fairness, and adherence to the highest standards of democratic practice.

“After carefully considering the extensive measures put in place and acknowledging the provisions of section 57(3) of the Electoral Act 1998, the commission declares the results of the 2024 national and provincial elections free and fair,” Moepya said.

Zuma’s warning on Saturday came as the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) Party demanded a re-vote after allegations of vote rigging, crashed machines and ballots being tampered with.

The party acquired 58 seats in the National Assembly, trailing only the DA with 87 seats and ANC with 159.

“I think the IEC should satisfy us that they did have a look into the matter … We are going to need time and nobody must declare (yesterday).

“No, if that happens, people will be provoking us because we know what we are talking about. We are not guessing … We are not children, who keep quiet when you give them sweets,” Zuma said.

In the Western Cape, EFF provincial chairperson Unathi Ntame said the party has raised blatant irregularities with the capturing of the election results, with the IEC.

“While EFF representatives were busy looking into these irregularities that reflected thoroughly into the IEC capturing system, it became apparent that the EFF was not the only political party affected by this, as other parties also picked up similar irregularities with their votes being wrongly captured,” Ntame said.

The National Coloured Congress (NCC), which received 2.4% of votes in the Western Cape, said they were considering action against the IEC.

“We are disappointed at the number of irregularities at the voting stations; we are taking legal advice,” said NCC president Fadiel Adams.

The Patriotic Alliance (PA), which surprised everyone in the province by becoming the third-biggest party with 7.84% of votes, said its party will adhere to the rules.

“We will find these irregularities in 2026 again and let them continue with those stolen votes, but we are not going to go against the IEC because we signed the Electoral Code,” said PA leader Gayton McKenzie.

Al Jama-ah, with 1.36% of the votes in the province, said they were also busy with objections. “We await the outcome; further process is for parties to do joint applications to the Electoral Court,” said Shameemah Salie, Al Jama-ah spokesperson.

The ACDP, which got 1.3%, said it has been inundated with queries, complaints and allegations about the voting and counting process, raised by members, party agents, supporters and voters.

Its national executive committee (NEC) has appointed an independent elections analyst to spearhead objections to the IEC in respect of the results.

The IEC yesterday reassured voters that objections will be dealt with.

“The attitude of the commission is not to put form over substance. We are not going to be technical; we are going to look at the matter before us, and we’re going to consider them in the process of ensuring the integrity of the results,” said Moepya.

Nationally, the ANC achieved 40.18% (6 459 683 votes), followed by the DA with 21.81% (3 505 735 votes), and the MK with 14.58% (2 344 309).

In the Western Cape, the DA won by an outright majority with 55.3% of the votes (1 088 423), followed by the ANC with 19.55% (384 853) and the PA stood at 7.81% (153 607 votes).

DA provincial leader Tertuis Simmers said they will soon put together a government that will continue its work to make a difference in the lives of all residents in the Western Cape.

“We extend our heartfelt gratitude to every voter in the Western Cape for their continued trust and support. We remain steadfast in our commitment to serve every resident of our province,” said Simmers.

zolani.sinxo@inl.co.za

Cape Argus