Port Elizabeth - Stacks of unsecured marked ballot papers found at the regional operations centre of the IEC in Nelson Mandela Bay have thrown the outcome into question, with the ANC set to call for a recount.
While the IEC had said at a media briefing at 5pm it expected to declare the result in Nelson Mandela Bay on Thursday night, the dispute will almost certainly delay the announcement significantly.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane has already announced his party would be in a position to form a coalition government in the city, having gained 46 percent of the vote to the ANC’s 42 percent, with 90 percent of the vote counted.
Party insiders from both the ANC and DA agreed on these figures.
But the ANC is considering its options following the discovery of stacks of unsecured ballots, some of which reflected a vote in its favour.
The Municipal Electoral Act states that an objection material to the outcome of a poll may be lodged in relation to any aspect of the voting or counting proceedings, among others.
The commission would have to determine whether the number of ballots involved is sufficient to have potentially affected the outcome of the poll.
Should the commission uphold an objection, it may either amend the result or, if it believes the matter is serious enough to potentially warrant the setting aside of the result, refer it to the Electoral Court.
At the time of publication the IEC confirmed it had not yet received a formal complaint, but the ANC said it was consulting its lawyers on whether or not to call for the result to be set aside.
In terms of the law it has until 5pm on Friday to do this.
Election Bureau