Pretoria – With 88% of the votes having been tallied in the Free State, preliminary results indicate that the African National Congress (ANC) is in the lead with over 62%.
The ANC is trailed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) with more than 19% and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is standing at just over 9%.
Free State ANC spokesperson Thabo Meko said the preliminary results confirm the party’s ambition to retain all municipalities in the province.
He said all it took for the party was intensive campaigning and ensuring that their campaigns were credible.
Meko was also pleased that elections in the province were free and fair, as per the Electoral Commission’s prescripts. He said whatever challenges that were faced during the election period have been dealt with.
Meko said the results, as they stand, mean that the municipalities will have to improve service delivery to make good on electoral promises.
However, Meko lamented the voter turnout, which was affected by the weather. Some temporary voting stations, made of tents, were blown away by strong winds.
Meko said they received reports of some employees in private companies not getting a day off on election day, despite President Jacob Zuma declaring election day as a public holiday to allow employees to vote. - SAnews.gov.za
