Blog | 30 May 2024

South Africa: Elections 2024 | Counting underway after calm voting day

Louw Nel

Senior Political Analyst, OE Africa

Results are starting to trickle in after voters turned out in their numbers for South Africa’s general and provincial elections on Wednesday, May 29. The Electoral Commission (IEC) is yet to publish figures but long waiting times at some polling stations suggest a good turnout – though there were also logistical challenges. There were no significant security incidents.

The IEC has come in for severe criticism as voters had hours-long waits at some polling stations, mostly in urban centres. Understaffing, overwhelmed and undertrained officials, and glitchy scanners were cited as some of the most common problems. But, in a testimony to how important people deemed this election, voters waited patiently, some for as long as five hours, to cast their ballots. Others, no doubt, quit the queues. The IEC said that poor internet connections were to blame at many polling stations as poll workers could not use their Voter Management Devices to confirm voters and had to resort to manual verification. The commission insisted problems were limited to a minority of its 23,293 voting stations and said polling station would remain open after the 21:00 cut-off time provided voters were already in line.

The IEC’s logistical failures should come as no surprise. The Commission warned, soon after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the election date on February 21, that it would struggle to organise the polls within the three-month timeframe. The problem was exacerbated by significant budget cuts (R280m in the 2023/2024 financial year alone) and the added complication of implementing a new electoral framework. Mr Ramaphosa only signed the Electoral Matters Amendment Act (EMAA) into law on May 7, even though the bill was passed by the National Assembly (NA) on March 12. One of the changes was the introduction of a third ballot paper, the consequence of law changes that allowed independent candidates to contest the elections for the first time. Another change, in terms of the EMAA, was that voters could now only vote at the polling station where they were registered, confusing some people who previously voted at other locations and were unaware of the changes. However, some of the frustration with the IEC stems from the fact that voter numbers were already known, and capacity issues should have been anticipated. The lack of voter education has also been cited as contributing to problems.

There were, mercifully, no major security incidents on voting day itself. The election saw a huge mobilisation of security forces, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal where disruptions were feared. In Mthatha, the provincial capital in the Eastern Cape, the run-up to voting day was blighted by a hugely disruptive taxi strike that first started on Monday, May 27, but calm had returned by the time polling stations opened. Localised protests and unrest were reported in some areas as dissatisfied residents used the occasion of the election and the increased media focus to draw attention to their grievances. In Philippi, Cape Town, protesters closed several roads and a vehicle carrying independent candidate Zackie Achmat was fired upon on Tuesday, May 28, but it is unclear if the incident was election-related.

WHY DO WE CARE? At the time of writing, about 11% of votes had been counted and final results are only expected on Sunday, June 2. As such, trends may only start to emerge on Friday, May 31, once a significant share of the country’s 1,925 voting districts have published their results. As mentioned in previous Talking Points, established parties, and the ruling African National Congress (ANC), typically benefit from lower voter turnout and the encouraging display from voters on May 29 will give the incumbents more reason to fret over the results which, according to polling data, could see the ANC lose its majority for the first time since multi-party democracy was introduced in 1994. This possibility and the emergence of new political alternatives are chief among the reasons for what appears to have been a good turnout. Criticism of the IEC is certain to dominate headlines for now as some political parties have already cried foul, the uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party chief among those. The MK party has already called for the commission’s leadership to resign and continue to single out IEC Commissioner Janet Love. We anticipate the party will dispute the results, irrespective of the outcome.

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Louw Nel

Senior Political Analyst, OE Africa

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Elections 2024 Political Focus South Africa South Africa Elections

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