Though the elections were marred with issues ranging from technical matters to voters not finding their names on the roll and long queues past midnight at some stations across the country, the IEC declared the first results just after midnight. The first results came from the Winnie Madikizela Mandela municipality in the Eastern Cape. The results show the ANC in the lead, followed by the Democratic Alliance with the EFF in third place. 

?The Electoral Commission is happy to announce the first results of the #SAelections24.

For updates on the results, visit https://t.co/oyLqQLx4bS. pic.twitter.com/2wz3R3Ql3L

— IEC South Africa (@IECSouthAfrica) May 30, 2024

A HIGH TURNOUT 

IEC chief electoral officer, Sy Mamabolo, said the commission is pleased with the high turnout at the voting stations and wishes to thank voters who were patient while waiting to vote. "Voting has been completed at all correctional facilities in the country. We remain thankful to the Department of Correctional Services for their continued assistance in ensuring inmates exercise their right to vote. Once the counting process has been concluded, the commission will start a process to remove all voting materials, including ballot boxes and other bulk materials, back to the storage facilities." Mamabolo said the people who were in queues before 9 pm last night were allowed to vote even after the closing time. "So, no voter who was at the station was denied the right to vote. The commission staff remained at the station to ensure that every voter was given time to complete their ballots. SAPS members also remained at the voting stations to ensure the safety of the voters."

RESULTS COUNTING 

According to the IEC, once voting is complete, ballot counting takes place at the voting station where the votes are cast, and the commission has seven days to announce the results. Mamabolo said last night that the IEC will try to announce the election results before Sunday, even though they have a seven-day deadline. "According to the Electoral Act, the commission has seven days in which to announce the results. We have always been able to declare and announce the results well within this period and will endeavour to do so with these elections,' Mamabolo said. For live updates on the results, visit https://results.elections.org.za/dashboards/npe/.