South Africans queue to cast their vote in a recent election. The country holds five-yearly national elections on 8 May. EFE-EPA/Kim Ludbrook
Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) chairperson Glen Mashinini on Tuesday formally opened the National Results Centre in Pretoria, which he said would be a home to all 48 political parties.
He took the opportunity to announce that the upcoming results would be read on Saturday, 11 May.
He said “next week South Africans from every corner of our country and from every walk of life return to the polls the the sixth time since 1994 to elect their chosen representatives for the National Assembly and provincial legislatures … from this stage we will again announce the results of these elections next week.”
He added that transparency would be built into every part of the electoral process, which would help establish trust and public confidence, as noted by the National Democratic Institute. He added that the credibility of the elections would be “protected and secured through a variety of checks and balances through each stage of the process”.
“As we open the centre today we appeal to all South Africans to ensure that the conditions under which the elections are held once again bear witness to the world that South Africa remains a shining example of a constitutional democracy in action.”
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