South Africa’s Electoral Commission Portal Crashes During Vote Count

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has recorded a glitch on its results viewing portal while vote counting was underway. It, however, apologises to voters over the development.

The results page had gone blank early Friday morning but was later restored after about two-hour hiatus.

At the time of the glitch, the IEC said local offices continued to capture results while its technicians were working on restoring services at the central server.

The commission did not state a reason for the disruption but assured that results have not been compromised.

“All services have since been restored and the leaderboard is working normally. Result processing continues unaffected,” the IEC said in a statement.

When the portal returned, results had come in from 54.9 per cent of polling stations, giving the ruling African National Congress (ANC) 41.86 per cent of votes cast. The Democratic Alliance (DA) had 23.67 per cent while the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) secured 19.98 per cent.

A final result near the current preliminary 42 per cent would be a steep tumble for the ANC, which achieved its lowest victory margin of 57.5 per cent in the 2019 elections.

The development may force the incumbent President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is seeking re-election, to begin negotiations for a coalition government.