The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) said all vote counting was completed and the process for votes to be captured and validated has now begun.
“The process of results compilation entails ensuring accuracy and validation of the results,” the IEC said.
“This process involves scanning each result slip to create an image of the result, double-blind capture of each result slip, and auditing each result slip by independent auditors. The result system was audited externally and parties had occasion to also audit.”
A result is only considered complete when a result slip has been scanned, captured on the results system, audited by independent auditors, and gone through the automated result system exception parameters.
The IEC also thanked the real heroes, South Africans who stood in queues for hours to cast their votes and electoral staff who had been working tirelessly to process the votes.
What is the process of finalising results of each voting station?
– Once the results have been counted and finalised, the presiding officer and party agents will, in the presence of observers, sign he result slip which is then placed in a tamper-evident bag and transported to the results capture centre.
– At the results capture centre, a check and balance process ensues. This includes checking that the result slip is correct, it has the details of the voting station and those of the presiding offer as well as the voting station’s unique barcode. This will then be captured onto the system using the double-blind method.
– Using the barcode, the results slip will then be scanned and the results are electronically matched to the appropriate voting district.
– External auditors will then audit result slips to ensure the capturing was conducted correctly.
– The results are taken through the IEC’s exception parameters. If an exception is flagged, the results will be investigated and taken through a recapture process.
– Once results pass the test, it will become final and available to political parties, independent candidates, and the media.
Once all results are finalised, the IEC will undertake the seat calculation process based on a prescribed formula. The full list of new public representatives will be handed over to the Chief Justice once the seat assignment has been completed.
“While this process is proceeding well, it is important to reflect that historically, in the first 24 hours, 80% of the results would have been finalised. However, the process in the NPE2024 has been slowed down by the third ballot, particularly in the metropolitan areas,” the IEC said.
According to the Electoral Act, the IEC has seven days to announce the results.