KwaZulu-Natal's preliminary local government election results are not yet final, as the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) considers late objections that may impact the outcome in some wards and municipalities. Provincial electoral officer Ntombifuthi Masinga warned that the objections could have implications at voting station, ward, and municipal level. The IEC must determine whether to reject the objections or condone their late submission before finalising the affected results.
Masinga addressed the provincial results announcement, stating that the IEC was still considering objections submitted after the prescribed deadline under Section 65 of the Municipal Electoral Act. The commission will determine whether to reject or condone the late submissions. KwaZulu-Natal accounted for 11% of all Section 65 objections submitted nationally. Masinga cautioned political parties and the public against treating the current figures as final.
The province recorded a voter turnout of 49%, a few percentage points above the national average. However, Masinga said the turnout meant that the people elected to serve in local government would have been chosen by only about half of the province's voting population. KwaZulu-Natal is the country's second-largest province in terms of voter population, accounting for 21% of registered voters nationally, behind Gauteng.
The IEC dismissed 25 temporary election staff members during the election period for various breaches, including displaying partisan behaviour at voting stations and failing to comply with the electoral framework. Masinga said the commission had taken action against employees whose conduct compromised the impartiality expected of election officials. The province had deployed more than 40,000 election staff, representing 22% of the IEC's national workforce for the elections.
Masinga highlighted that none of KwaZulu-Natal's 5,028 voting stations ran out of ballot papers, despite the scale of the election and the different ballots required for the various electoral contests. The province had 921 wards, 43 local municipalities, one metropolitan municipality, and 10 district councils. Voters received different ballot papers for the relevant electoral levels.
The provincial electoral officer outlined some logistical challenges faced by the commission in preparing for the elections, including a court ruling that required the IEC to include 19 additional political parties in the election. The commission had to respond to the ruling while working against tight deadlines, with printing operations running around the clock to ensure that the additional parties were accommodated.
Masinga addressed concerns around voters whose special vote applications had been submitted before the proclamation of the election dates but were not processed immediately due to connectivity problems in some parts of the province. The IEC worked with telecommunications providers and installed temporary network boosters in areas with poor connectivity to address network difficulties.
Key points
- The IEC is considering late objections that may impact the outcome in some wards and municipalities in KwaZulu-Natal.
- The province recorded a voter turnout of 49%, above the national average.
- The IEC dismissed 25 temporary election staff members for breaches during the election period.
