Party officials glued to IEC results screen

The IEC’s national results centre is a hive of activity with various political parties, election representatives and officials glued to the results screens.

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Pretoria - The IEC’s national results centre was a hive of activity on Thursday afternoon with political parties jostling to control the message and the narrative over who is winning the local government elections.

Various political parties, election representatives and officials were glued to the results screens in Pretoria.

While the ANC hopes to keep control of its metros including Nelson Mandela Bay, Tshwane and Joburg, the DA remains optimistic that it stands a chance of taking the Eastern Cape metro.

ANC deputy secretary general Jessie Duarte told Independent Media she was pleased with the results so far.

“We are very happy. We know that we are doing well with all the metros. All that’s been counted right now is voting districts, but we know that we are doing well in all the metros. We are just waiting for the verification of the results. Despite the hype around Nkandla we have been able to take control of that municipality,” said Duarte.

On the ANC’s prospects for the City of Joburg she said although they were anxious, she was confident that the governing party would retain the metro.

Meanwhile the DA has already started claiming victory for various municipalities such as Cape Town and Midvaal in Gauteng, which they both previously ruled.

DA national spokesperson Phumzile van Damme was confident her party would win some of the metros.

“We are now waiting with bated breath for the results for Tshwane, Joburg and Nelson Mandela Bay. All indications show that we might win those municipalities,” said Van Damme.

The EFF’s Godrith Gardee said that his party expected to grab a number of votes in Limpopo and the North West.

Elections Bureau