With vote counting having been concluded in the National and Provincial Elections 2024 (NPE2024), each voting station is now expected to embark on a process to finalise its results.
This according to Electoral Commission (IEC) Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sy Mamabolo, who was briefing the media at the IEC National Results Operations Centre in Midrand on Thursday afternoon.
He explained that the process is now expected to unfold as follows:
- Once the results have been counted and finalised, the presiding officer and party agents will, in the presence of observers, sign the result slip which will then be placed in a tamper-evident bag and transported to the capture centre.
- At the results capture centre, a check and balance process will ensue. This includes checking that the result slip is on the correct form, has details of the voting station and those of the presiding officer as well as a voting station unique barcode. It is then captured onto the system using the double blind method.
- Using the barcode, the results slip is then scanned and the results are electronically matched with the appropriate voting district.
- External auditors will then audit the results slip to ensure that it is captured correctly.
- The results are then taken through the Commission's exception parameters. If an exception is flagged, the results are investigated and taken through the recapture process.
- Once the results pass the test, it will then become final and available to political parties, independent candidates and the media.
WATCH | IEC media briefing
“Once all the results are finalised, the Commission will undertake the seat calculation process, based on a prescribed formula. The full list of the new public representatives will be handed over to the Chief Justice once seat assignment is completed.
“While this process is proceeding well, it is important to reflect that historically, in the first 24 hours, 80% of the results would have been finalised. However, the process in the NPE2024 has been slowed down by the third ballot, particularly in the metropolitan areas,” he said.
READ | Vote counting now concluded
The CEO emphasised that the commission has at least a week to announce the results.
“We have always been able to declare and announce the results well within this period and will endeavour to do so with these elections,” Mamabolo concluded. – SAnews.gov.za
