News24 | Resolve disputes before we can say election was free and fair - political parties to Limpopo's IEC

A man looks at live voting results at the IEC National Results Centre on 30 May 2024 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

• The IEC in Limpopo is investigating a few disputes.
• At one voting station, there were allegedly more ballots than the number issued.
• Track the latest results via our Elections Map.
  

Political parties in Limpopo have collectively called on the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) to swiftly resolve a few disputes before the election results can be accepted as free and fair.

Some parties addressed the media at the Results Operation Centre in Polokwane on Thursday, following a Party Liaison Committee (PLC) meeting with the provincial IEC.

The DA's Desiree van der Walt said: "We still have three voting districts under dispute. We also raised a dispute regarding an incident at Mitchell House School in Polokwane, where there were extra ballots than the number of papers issued.

"The IEC is investigating that. They have sent their officials to verify our claims. We are awaiting the results. We are waiting for another complaint in Lephalale. We hope to resolve the matters before we sign off on the elections, that they were free and fair."

Van der Walt added that the PLC and IEC would ensure the matters raised were resolved.

"We have full confidence that the issues raised will receive attention today," said Van der Walt.

READ | Alert Limpopo residents chase IEC official transporting special ballot boxes without police escort

Ngako Setjie, of Build One South Africa, claimed that, in some instances, voters were turned away. The issue had been raised with Limpopo's IEC.

"Some IEC systems were not working properly. We hope to have free and fair elections because we don't want war in this country. We must solve our problems amicably," Setjie said.

The ANC's Makoma Makhurupetje said the meeting between the PLC and IEC was to assess what had happened on Wednesday.

"The IEC wanted to know whether we had received complaints from our members on the ground and whether there were outstanding queries. We can confirm that the IEC is doing everything to speed up the process of results.

"They also reminded us we have until Friday, 21:00, to raise our objections. One objection was raised in the Lepelle-Nkumpi Municipality. We think the incidents are becoming minimal. The queues were long, and their machines were not working, resulting in party agents being frustrated," said Makhurupetje.

READ | Election day turmoil: From ballot selfies to assault on officers

The EFF's Lawrence Mapoulo said the meeting presided over sensitive and thorny issues.

"What remains is the IEC's ability to isolate matters raised externally and internally. There were (criminal) cases that were opened. We will ensure, as the committee, that those cases are resolved in the spirit of ubuntu.

"We must be able to bring peace and contribute to it taking place. We call on the IEC to retrain their staff. In many countries, when election results are released, there is bloodshed.

"That is not something we will see in South Africa. We love peace and transparency. We would love the IEC to correct all the petty mistakes they had made, and we move forward to build a better country of love and peace," said Mapoulo.