South Africa elections 2014: Partial results show ANC takes early lead

The partial results in South Africa’s polls show that governing African National Congress (ANC) has taken an early lead in the general election.

With 31% of votes counted, the ANC had 58.7% of the vote followed by the Democratic Alliance on 27.7%.

The ANC is widely expected to return to power although analysts say anything less than 60% of the vote for the party will be seen as a major upset.

The ANC is widely expected to return to power in South Africa (photo AFP)

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party was in third place with 4.2%.

The electoral commission said voting passed peacefully in most areas.

Turnout was just over 72%, with about 25 million people registered to vote in 22,000 polling stations across South Africa.

The elections are the first since the death in December of Nelson Mandela – the country’s first black president – and mark 20 years since the end of white-minority rule.

Those born after the end of apartheid in 1994 were able to cast their ballots for the first time, although only a third of those entitled to do so had registered to vote.

An ANC victory would return President Jacob Zuma for a second five-year term. In the last election in 2009, the ANC saw a drop in support, polling 66% of the vote.

Speaking as he cast his vote on Wednesday, Jacob Zuma said he thought “the results will be very good”, but added that the campaign had been “very challenging”.

The party emerging as the ANC’s main challenger is the Democratic Alliance (DA) – a liberal pro-business party, led by anti-apartheid activist Helen Zille, which is trying to make inroads into the black electorate.

The EFF, launched last year by former ANC youth leader Julius Malema, hopes to get its first parliamentary seats with its campaign for nationalizing the mines and the forced redistribution of farmland.

vGGboKb6_l0
Diane A. Wade

Diane is a perfectionist. She enjoys searching the internet for the hottest events from around the world and writing an article about it. The details matter to her, so she makes sure the information is easy to read and understand. She likes traveling and history, especially ancient history. Being a very sociable person she has a blast having barbeque with family and friends.

Recent Posts

White House 2024: Voter Fraud Claims Flood Social Media

Misleading allegations, rumours and outright lies about voting and fraud are flooding online spaces in…

1 day ago

Spain: At Least 158 Killed In The Country’s Worst Flooding Disaster

At least 158 people have died in Spain's worst flooding disaster in generations. On October…

4 days ago

Russia Fines Google $20,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, Surpassing Global GDP

Google has been fined two undecillion (a two followed by 36 zeroes) roubles by a…

4 days ago

Financing Your Home Remodel: 7 Tips for Success

Embarking on a home remodel is an exciting journey, promising enhanced comfort, increased property value,…

2 weeks ago

Donald Trump Serves Up McDonald’s Fries While Kamala Harris Celebrates 60th Birthday with Church Choir

The US presidential candidates continued to campaign across key swing states on October 20. Footage…

2 weeks ago

America PAC: Elon Musk Promises to Award $1M Each Day to Swing States Voters

Elon Musk has said he will give away $1 million a day to a registered…

2 weeks ago