Port Elizabeth - IEC Regional Supervisor Crosby Bacela said the system used to capture votes was slow hence the delay in the completion of capturing votes at the Nelson Mandela Bay results centre in the Eastern Cape on Thursday.
By late afternoon, Bacela said that 71 percent of the votes had been captured. He had earlier said he had anticipated that the votes in Nelson Mandela Bay would be captured by 3pm but this did not pan out due to a slow system.
He said that the entire country was using the same system and that as the vote counting picked up nationwide, the system was slowing down.
"We have captured those that we are capturing but the process is taking a toll. Remember in order for the results to be qualified they need to be audited and if the results don't appear on the screen it's going to be difficult for them," Bacela said.
He said the process of capturing all votes would not be concluded by Thursday adding that the staff were also tired. "Remember we did not sleep since yesterday so we also need a break and we will speak to our principles," he said.
IEC Regional Supervisor Crosby Bacela says capturing has been delayed due to a slow system . Video: Raahil Sain/ ANA
By 4pm in the Eastern Cape, the African National Congress (ANC) was at 69.33%, the Democratic Alliance (DA) at 16.22 % and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) at 7.14 %, according to the IEC website.
In Nelson Mandela Bay by 2pm, the ANC was at 47.66%, the DA at 37.95% and the EFF at 7.61 %. The total number of valid votes cast in the region is 221 208.