S.Africa electoral commission site goes down amid vote count

By : AFP

Date: 31 May 2024

Voters wait in line at the Intlonipho Primary School polling station in Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg on May 29, 2024, during South Africa’s general election. - South Africans vote on May 29, 2024 in what may be the most consequential election in decades, as dissatisfaction with the ruling ANC threatens to end its 30-year political dominance. (Photo by Michele Spatari / AFP)

The website of South Africa’s electoral commission was down on Friday as the country counted votes from a key election in which the ruling ANC looked set to lose its majority.

“We apologise for the issue with our public-facing NPE system, and are working on restoring service”, the commission said.

“The results system is still operational and local offices continue to capture results”, it said.

With a third of votes in Wednesday’s election tallied, the ANC was leading but with a score of only 42 percent — well below the 57 percent it won in 2019.

The centre-right Democratic Alliance (DA) followed on 25 percent. The leftist Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and former South African president Jacob Zuma’s uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) were neck and neck on around nine percent each.