Pretoria – The Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) national Results Operations Centre (ROC) is ready to count the millions of votes that are being cast in the country’s fifth democratic election.
Counting will begin after the country’s 22 363 voting stations close at 9pm. The national Results Operations Centre in Pretoria, South Africa’s capital, is equipped with 450 computers and wireless network to accommodate more than 200 concurrent users.
There is a ROC in all the country’s nine provinces, where the results will stream in at the conclusion of voting until the official results are declared. These results will come in from the voting stations that have been set up by the IEC across the country.
As voting proceeded across the country from 7am on Wednesday, journalists, political party agents, election observers, IEC officials and other organisations have taken their positions at the IEC’s ROC in Pretoria to start following election results when voting stops at 9pm.
Accreditation for all people who will be at the centre has so far run smoothly and a gigantic screen that where votes will be recorded digitally has been set up.
A few meters from the screen, to the right, desks of all political parties that are registered by the IEC have been set up and party agents have already familiarised themselves with the system.
Local and international media organisations have surrounded the main screen area from elevated positions, with broadcast media being given preference in terms of positioning. – SAnews.gov.za
