IEC clarifies update to results dashboard

The Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) on Monday evening moved to clear up the confusion around its update to the elections results dashboard.

The commission had updated the tally to reflect the total number of votes from the two National Assembly ballots and final seat allocation for the recent elections.

The clarification follows an uproar on social media over the “sudden inflation” of voter numbers on the dashboard after the update resulted in parties increasing their “initial” voter counts, which had not yet reflected the regional aspect.

“In the 2024 elections registered voters received two ballots for the National Assembly, one national ballot and one regional ballot. Just over 16-million registered voters voted, casting 31.92-million ballots across the nine regional and national ballots,” the IEC said.

The third ballot received by voters was for provincial legislatures.

Parties such as the MK (MK) party, which has been vocal about claims of vote-rigging and has called for a rerun, responded to the confusion about the updates, again questioning the IEC’s integrity and credibility.

The commission confirmed that the Electoral Act prescribed for the calculation of compensatory seats after national compensatory (N) ballots and regional (R) ballots were taken into account. Hence the listing of “N+R” on the results dashboard, it said.

“This is done to ensure the allocation of compensatory seats takes into account the regional strength of all political parties, thus meeting the proportional representation in general demanded by the constitution.”

The MK party said it would join the ATM in its court challenge against the electoral outcomes. Both parties are members of the “Progressive Caucus” in parliament against the government of national unity (GNU).  

The ANC’s GNU was joined by GOOD, the IFP, PA and DA, which voted to re-elect President Cyril Ramaphosa on Friday. The Progressive Caucus nominated EFF leader Julius Malema as its candidate for president.

Several dignitaries, including heads of state, are expected to attend Ramaphosa’s inauguration at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Wednesday. 

TimesLIVE