ANC challenges its 23.9% score in Emfuleni in court
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Sowetan
The ANC is considering taking the results in Emfuleni, where it won only 23.9% of the vote against 40.9% for the Democratic Alliance, to South Africa's electoral court, according to its deputy general secretary Nomvula Mokonyane. The party, which has already requested a recount in Gauteng, is still waiting for the electoral commission's response, the Sowetan reports.
The ANC's internal structures have recommended that the party take the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) to the electoral court over the results of the Emfuleni municipal vote, the deputy general secretary of the African National Congress (ANC), Nomvula Mokonyane, told the Sowetan. In this Gauteng municipality, the ANC won only 23.9% of the vote, far behind the Democratic Alliance (DA), credited with 40.9%.
"There are structures making recommendations, and we are examining them," Nomvula Mokonyane said, without specifying the content of the report presented to party officials or the nature of the recommendations. She did not say whether the ANC would actually go to court, saying the option remained on the table. On Saturday, ANC general secretary Fikile Mbalula announced at a press conference that the party had requested a recount in Gauteng and was still awaiting the result.
In the previous elections, the ANC won 39.71% of the vote in Emfuleni, against 26.91% for the DA. The DA's candidate for mayor of Emfuleni, Kingsol Chabalala, dismissed the ANC's concerns, saying the party had lodged objections before the vote and after counting began, including about addresses that he said grouped an implausible number of voters. He accused the ANC of refusing to accept the DA's gains in the townships.
Nationally, the ANC would win about 30% of the vote and the DA 24.64%, according to figures cited by the Sowetan. The challenge comes after the publication of the official results of the South African municipal elections and as the ANC has lost ground in the major metropolitan areas, with the DA dominating five of them.
