Pretoria - Politicians showed off their party colours at the National Results Operations Centre in Pretoria this morning as the focus shifted from voting to the results of the country’s national and provincial elections.
Thursday marks the first day of vote counting after South Africans made their voices heard by heading to the polls in the country’s fifth democratic elections on Wednesday.
The African National Congress is still leading with over 2.4 million votes, then the Democratic Alliance with 1.1 million and Economic Freedom Fighters with over 173 000 votes as at 8am.
Just over 30 percent of the votes have been counted so far.
“It’s always important to kick off fast out of the blocks,” ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe told SAnews.
Dressed in a yellow, black and green ANC party T-shirt, khakhi pants and a black jacket, Mantashe expressed confidence in how the party had faired.
“I think we’ve kicked out of the blocks very fast and I think we should keep the momentum,” he said at the results centre.
Dressed warmly in a purple coat, DA leader Helen Zille was also present as the centre, which was abuzz with excitement, as results continue to come in.
Although there were hiccups the elections went off as smoothly as can be expected, said Zille.
Representatives of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), who were dressed in their trademark red berets and some in red jumpers, could be seen conducting interviews with the various media houses stationed at the centre.
While it is still early on, the atmosphere at the centre is jovial with political party representatives looking up at the blue leader board, while others interact with their competitors.
Earlier, Mantashe went up to the new kids on the block – the EFF – to “check how the fighters are doing”.
The centre also serves as the base for journalists, political analysts, election observers and representatives.
The results centre is shaped like a stock exchange trading floor with the banners with the 2014 elections logo – IX SA (I vote SA). - SAnews.gov.za
