Election Results May 2011

[AndyD]

Well it looks like Cape Town is DA all the way. All the results that are out already for around here saw the ANC getting trounced.

The DA was doing extraordinarily well in the other big city areas like Joburg and Pretoria but a lot of the larger areas are slow with results coming out so it will probably slide more in the ANC's favour as time goes on. That said I'm sensing a large overall swing away from the ANC in many areas. Is this a precursor for the way the next general election might go?

[Dave A]

Not enough results on the IEC website to start getting analytical about it, I reckon.

I was looking at the turnout figures though which should be final by now. Interesting reading.

Cape Town - 67.25%
Tshwane - 54.16%
Johannesburg - 58.45%
Ekurhuleni (East Rand) - 56.78%
Nelson Mandela Bay - 64.59%
eThekwini - 59.72%

The number that has blown me away so far is the number of registered voters in eThekwini (Durban Metro) - 213 010. That seems staggeringly low given the resident population. Why are so many people in my neck of the woods not registered voters?

[AndyD]

Was the Durban metro area an issue with low registration figures or low turnout on the day.....or both?

[Dave A]

False alarm. Obviously the numbers were just on declared wards or votes counted so far. eThekwini is now showing over 700 000 registered voters.

Here is the IEC results page if anyone's interested.

[ChrisNG53]

Well the results are all out now and some observations can be made -

1. The DA made significants gains.
   This is a very good thing, on a number of counts. We now have a Province in which the main concern of the populace is their common welfare, regardless of race and ethnicity.
   
2. More Black folk will swing to this mindset as the DA delivers on its mandate.
   
3. The ANC DID lose support, despite their denials, both at the polls and in terms of a boycott by disgruntled voters.
   This is a good thing, as their 17 year old record is pretty bad and voters should hold them accountable.
   It was therefore heartening to hear the President very soberly advising the party that Councillors now need to understand that they are there to serve the people and that they must serve even those who did not vote for the ANC.
   This stance is something new. It is good. It is wholesome.
   
4. South Africa has now again changed forever, at a very fundamental level.
   At the heart of this change is that the Western Cape is going to provide leadership on good non racist, non sectarian government.
   
5. A glaring point for the ANC is that its leaders do need to heed the extreme hurt and concern that has been induced by the racist remarks and stance by the likes of Jimmy Manyi.
   As much as it promotes the perception that the DA is a "White" party, the ANC concomitantly promotes the perception that it is there to push "Black' interests at the expense of other ethnic groups.
   Non-Blacks are feeling increasingly alienated. That is the reality. It cannot be just glossed over or wished away.
   Most importantly, it is very bad leadership to blame people for feeling this way. The feeling is a product of bad leadership. The heady feeling of unity induced by Mandela donning the Springbok jersey, on that great day in 1995, has been frittered away. Worst still, is that there is a growing perception that government simply does not care.
   
6. When Jacob Zuma assumed the Presidency he promised that there would be accountability. To date not one person has been fired or had a sanction imposed for functional failure, whatever Carte Blanche and the media exposes. It has been "business as usual" for all those in the ANC camp.
   So persons like Jimmy Manyi, guilty of unadulterated racism, are "untouchable". Nothing has yet happened about the ANC cadre who has threatened to throw all the Blacks who voted for the DA in PE into the sea.
   
7. Our President needs to urgently constitute a "think tank" or "brains trust" to review the state of the nation and to advise on nation building. That committee must comprise good people from outside his political clique.
   I really do think he will be more than surprised at the good advice, common sense and wisdom that will emanate.
   
   Mr president, it is the wise thing to do.
   Don't have your predecessor's arrogance and aloofness.

[Justloadit]

The only way to show a shred of credibility in the government right now, is to sack the ANC cadre who raised the words to burn the PE Harold and throw the black DA supporters in the sea. This would show that government is serious and intolerant to any moves or statements which is not part of the ANC manifesto. With out following this, there is no manifesto, and they are there to line their pockets.

The statments made in PE blatantly show the racism that is still in their hearts, and quite frankly SA does not need these type of people in power.

[Superscenic]

I don't trust the IEC further than I can throw a hastily filled Ballot box. I believe all votes not used go to the ANC. Until this country has a transparent system where every vote is displayed next to an online identity and registration of the voter, I will mentally subtract at least half of all ANC votes as fraud.

[Chatmaster]

Although I do not support the DA in all it's views, they are unfortunately the best opposition for the racist ANC because they have the best leaders. I can't help but to wonder how many of the voters that stayed away from the polls in protest of the ANC's poor service delivery have any sense of what other political parties actually stand for. I find it extremely frustrating that despite what the ANC stands for they are still receiving the majority vote country wide. The ANC needs to review their system whereby the radicalist NEC makes decisions that are implemented by government, so that a real leader can step up and lead the way they are supposed to. Madiba challenged the NEC when they made decisions that was wrong for the country as a whole, they knew he was the leader and they listened to him. He wanted SA to unite, they want SA to be viewed as a racially divided country and they are succeeding.

What I further find shocking is the number (More than 120) of registered parties that took part in the elections. Are there so few leaders amongst us South Africans that every second idiot starts his own party? These parties are not good for democracy imo and are simply in it to perhaps hit the jackpot. Further more you sit with a completely leaderless IFP and a FF+ that seems to think the best way to go about it is to attack every party around them, whilst driving an all white vehicle with white-walled tires.

I am truly disappointed in my fellow South Africans that stay away from the elections because the ANC doesn't deliver. Don't they realize that there are other better parties that can take this country to where it belongs? What will it take to convince them that there are other parties? Do we lack political education in his country? I certainly do think so.

[observer24]

http://thinkafricapress.com/south-af...power-shifting

I think this article has a good summary of the gains made by the DA but will there ever really be an election when they smash through the glass ceiling?