Pretoria- As the day winds down at the Results Operation Centre (ROC), a day after Election Day, the African National Congress (ANC) continues to dominate in the country's fourth Local Government Elections
Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) staff have been busy counting, capturing and validating the results since the closing of the polls last night.
Just after 5pm the ANC led with 62.5 percent of the votes nationally. One hundred and twenty-one political parties were contesting the elections. The ANC was followed by the DA at 23.3 percent and the IFP at 3.6 percent, followed by the National Freedom Party, the new kid on the block, with 2.5 percent of the votes. COPE came in fifth with 2.3 percent.
In the Western Cape there was an outright two-horse race between the ANC and DA with the DA dominating with 59.51 percent and the ANC trailing at 30.88 percent.
In the Eastern Cape which is traditionally an ANC stronghold the ruling party held on with 73.20 percent of the votes followed by the DA with14.73 percent and COPE with 4.18 percent.
In the Free State, which has experienced several protests in areas such as Ficksburg in the lead up to the elections, the ruling party had a significant lead over the opposition. Votes for the ANC stood at 69.46 percent followed by the DA at 22.66 percent.
In the economic hub of South Africa Gauteng, the ANC claimed 61.03 percent of the votes with the DA trailing at 32.24 percent.
In KwaZulu-Natal the ANC led with 55.11 percent while the IFP came in second with 19.43 percent. The National Freedom Party came in with 12.55 percent of the votes with the DA coming in at 9.33 percent.
Mpumalanga stood at 79.22 percent being claimed by the ANC followed by the DA at 14.85 percent.
In the Northern Cape the ANC had 63.57 percent with the DA coming in with 22.27 of the votes and COPE with 11.91 percent of the votes.
In Limpopo the ANC had 82.74 percent of the votes, the DA 6, 7 percent, followed by the PAC with 1.35 percent. In the North West the ANC stood at 75.44 percent and the DA at 15.66 percent.
Results will continue to come in throughout the course of the night. Earlier on Thursday, IEC chief electoral officer, Advocate Pansy Tlakula, said the Commission was hopeful that counting would be completed by Saturday.
