DA takes 61%

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MOSSEL BAY NEWS AND VIDEO - With 804 008 of the votes in the Western Cape counted, about 50% of the polling station results are known.

Jaco Londt, regional manager of the DA's Eastern and Karoo division, thanked voters for placing their trust in the party once again.

"The Mossel Bay constituency performed the best by far of the other electoral divisions: 61% of the vote here belongs to the DA.

"The ANC (24%), VF+ (5%), ACDP (2%), EFF (2%), GOOD (1%) and other parties collectively share the rest of the vote. This indicates that voters divided their national and provincial vote," Londt explains.

In the Mossel Bay area both the Freedom Front Plus and ACDP support seems to have also increased marginally, while early reports are that the support for Icosa has waned. GOOD, a new political party headed by Patricia de Lille, seems not to have garnered much support in Mossel Bay.

The Electoral Commission has committed to making the final election result known by tomorrow, Saturday 11 May, at the latest.

Until then, all results communicated would be unverified figures, Western Cape electoral officer Courtney Sampson told the media at a press briefing late on Wednesday, 8 May, just after the polling stations had closed.
The national and provincial elections went off without insurmountable problems in the Western Cape, although political parties have listed several concerns. The most salient of the concerns raised were isolated cases where ballot papers were unavailable at a number of voting stations in the Cape Town metropole.

Cases were reported of non-functioning zip-zip machines or an insufficient number of the machines at some voting stations.
In addition, the inclement weather affected voter turnout. The need for special forms to be completed for voters to use voting stations other than where they were registered - a problem that affected the waiting times at voting stations; and the indelible ink used on voters' thumbs, which in a number of cases turned out not to be indelible, were also listed.

In some instances the unavailability of electricity in voting stations was a concern. A negligible number of voting stations opened late.
Several of the political parties indicated that the shortage of ballot papers could have cost them votes.

Checks and balances
The Electoral Commission stressed there were several checks and balances in place to prevent voters from voting more than once. Parties, however, challenged this statement, saying they had proof of instances where voters indeed voted more than once.

Political parties were nevertheless virtually unanimous in thanking the IEC for a job well done. The party representatives said that, despite the glitches, the voting processes ran smoothly.

Some party leaders speak
Senior party representatives the Mossel Bay Advertiser spoke to directly after the voting stations were officially closed were virtually unanimous in thanking the Electoral Commission for the manner in which the voting processes were managed.

African National Congress provincial secretary Faiez Jacobs said the party was quietly confident of the outcome of the election.

He said the ANC experienced a renewed trust, especially in President Cyril Ramaphosa.

"Western Cape people did themselves proud by turning out in their numbers to participate in the democratic process. Voter turnout in the Western Cape is normally in the 70% range. While we do not yet know the exact figures, it is fair to surmise the challenges will affect that figure, that the turnout will be less than what we are used to."

The provincial chair of the Democratic Alliance, Anton Bredell, paid homage to the party activists and supporters for their hard work in the run-p to the elections.

"I am surprised by the manner in which South Africans engage with democracy, with the manner in which voters braced the queues and the elements at the voting stations to make their mark."

On whether the DA's two thirds majority in the Western Cape would be in the balance, Bredell said it was always difficult to consistently grow a party exponentially.

"As leaders, party representatives and activists, we always give more than 100% and then, providing the process was free and fair, we accept the outcome.
"We are, however, confident the DA will return to govern the Western Cape." He added that the party had many plans to tackle the various problems, the most important of which was poverty, which would be addressed through job creation.

GOOD leader Patricia de Lille, who caused serious disruption on the political landscape when she broke away from the Democratic Alliance, said Voting Day was the culmination of five months of very hard work.
She said voters' turning up at voting stations despite the inclement weather was an indication of the value placed in the democratic foundations of the country.

"On a personal level, although a little tired, I can say that I have enjoyed the experience," De Lille said. She added that GOOD would regard whatever number of votes the party won as an achievement as it was the first time it had participated in an election.

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