IEC confirms over 70% of ballot papers counted nationwide

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The Electoral Commission has just confirmed that over 70% of ballot papers have been counted countrywide.

Verification and validification are still underway in 8 provinces except the Northern Cape which completed its count earlier on Friday with the Eastern Cape over 90% complete and the Free State 95% complete. According to the IEC, Mpumalanga is 91% complete.

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KwaZulu-Natal

Over half of the results in KwaZulu-Natal have been counted. The uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK) party led by former President Jacob Zuma remains in the lead with 44% support.

The African National Congress (ANC) is in second position with over 18%, followed by the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) with over 16%. The Democratic Alliance (DA) has over 14 percent of the vote in the province so far.

More than 54% of the voting districts in KZN have completed their results.

Meanwhile, IFP Member of Parliament Alco Ngobese has warned that the rise of the MK party must be a worrying phenomenon for all parties.

“As a politician, you must be scared when you see numbers of the MK going the way they are going. We did not anticipate that they would have a great impact as they have right now. So yes, it’s something to worry about. As a party, we cannot ignore that.”