South Africa: Zuma calls on electoral umpire not to declare election results as parties allege irregularities

Following the conclusion of the much anticipated election in South Africa, former President Jacob Zuma has called on the electoral commission not to announce the results after allegations of irregularities. He called for fair hearings among 25 political parties with their post-election grievances…

Former South African President Jacob Zuma has called on the Electoral Commission to delay declaring the results of Wednesday’s election, citing objections from over 25 political parties that have challenged the outcome of the keenly contested poll.

The poll saw South Africa’s governing African National Congress (ANC) party miss out on the opportunity of getting a majority in parliament for the first time in three decades.

South Africans on Wednesday voted to elect national and provincial lawmakers in a tightly contested election since the ANC won the first post-apartheid democratic elections in 1994.

According to the results of the votes counted by the Electoral Commission of South Africa, the ANC has obtained 40.21% of the vote, a drop from the 57.5% it secured in the last national election in 2019.

The 82-year-old Zuma, who leads the newly formed uMkhonto weSizwe party, which took the number three position in the elections with 14.60% of the vote, alleged that there were many election irregularities reported.

He called on the Commission to give the 26 aggrieved political parties to present their claims of electoral irregularities before declaring the outcome of the poll.

The electoral umpire is expected to announce the results soon after completing vote counting on Saturday.