Champagne corks popped, fireworks exploded and balloons dropped from the ceiling as this week’s general election was declared free and fair in Pretoria on Saturday and the African National Congress celebrated a hands-down victory.
There were smiles and hugs all round as political foes slapped one another on the back minutes after the final results were unveiled by Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) chairperson Brigalia Bam.
For some, like National Action leader Cassie Aucamp who lost his sole Parliamentary seat, there were heartfelt commiserations.
Bam told guests there had been no serious infractions of the electoral code of conduct by political parties or their supporters. She congratulated all parties for the maturity they demonstrated over the election period.
”The parties competed with one another, but did not lose sight of the fact that they had to act in the interest of the country and our democracy,” Bam said. ”They showed restraint and a spirit of co-operation.”
The ANC had won 279 of the 400 seats in the National Assembly, obtaining its first two-thirds majority. It has also for first time taken the majority of seats in all nine provincial legislatures.
This included KwaZulu-Natal — traditionally an Inkatha Freedom Party-held province — where the ANC is to take up 38 seats compared to the IFP’s 30. The Democratic Alliance, which has a co-operation agreement with the IFP, got seven seats.
On reported threats by the IFP not to recognise the outcome, deputy chief electoral officer Norman du Plessis said no official complaints had been received by Friday’s 9pm deadline.
According to the final figures, the ANC’s closest rival at national level, the DA, is to take up 50 Parliamentary seats.
The IFP was third with 28, followed by the United Democratic Movement with nine, and the New National Party and Independent Democrats with seven each.
The African Christian Democratic Party got six seats, the Freedom Front Plus four, and the Pan Africanist Congress and United Christian Democratic Party three each.
The Minority Front and Azanian People’s Organisation would get two seats each.
Other parties with seats in KwaZulu-Natal, were the MF and ACDP with two each, and the UDM with one.
In the Western Cape — historically an NNP strong-hold — the ANC took 19 of the 42 provincial seats, followed by the DA with 12, the NNP with five, the ID with three, the ACDP with two and the UDM with one.
The ANC took 51 of the 63 seats in the Eastern Cape, followed by the UDM with six and the DA with five and the PAC with one.
In the Free State, it got 25 seats compared to the DA’s three and FF Plus and ACDP’s one each.
In Gauteng, the ANC led with 51 of the 73 seats while the DA had 15, the IFP two, and the UDM, FF Plus, ACDP, ID and PAC one each.
In Limpopo, the ANC won 45 of the 49 seats, the DA two, and the ACDP and UDM one each.
In Mpumalanga, the ruling party took 27 seats, the DA two and the FF Plus one, while in the Northern Cape, 21 seats went to the ANC, three to the DA, two each to the NNP and ID and one each to the FF Plus and ACDP.
In the North West, the ANC got 27 seats, the UCDP three, the DA two and the FF Plus one.
Chief electoral officer Pansy Tlakula said the election ”has come and gone without major glitches”.
”Although we are a developing nation, we have come of age as far as election management is concerned,” she said.
This could be seen, among other things, in the fact that election results were being announced three days after the poll — compared to six days in 1999.
Another victory was the fact that it took 80% of voters less than 30 minutes to travel to their voting station.
President Thabo Mbeki thanked the IEC for its ”outstanding” work.
He also congratulated political parties who contested Wednesday’s poll and thanked them for readily accepting the final results ”even in those instances in which the outcome was not as favourable as they might have expected”.
”I would also like to thank the parties for the manner in which they conducted themselves during the election campaign and the voting process. Their highly responsible and patriotic behaviour played a critical role in ensuring that we held peaceful, free and fair elections.”
The president expressed relief at the fact that political tensions in KwaZulu-Natal did not mar the poll.
”I must nevertheless take this opportunity to convey our condolences to the families of those who did lose their loved ones as a result of the criminal actions of a very small handful of people who have not understood that the time for political violence has long passed.”
Mbeki and Bam both thanked the police, intelligence agencies and defence force for helping to ensure a free and fair election.
Moments after the final announcement, Mbeki received a letter from Mozambican president Joaquim Chissano, congratulating him on his party’s victory.
”The South African people once again expressed free and clearly their democratic right in a peaceful environment in favour of the ANC. They have given the ANC a clear mandate to run, again, the country’s affairs towards more economic and social transformation in the next five years under your leadership.”
The successful election was an important contribution to strengthening democracy in Africa.
Bam handed the results to Mbeki, saying: ”These will be the members of your National Assembly, sir.” – Sapa