The country’s law enforcement agencies say they are ready for any post-election violence should it occur.
This follows the announcement by former president Jacob Zuma that his uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party is dissatisfied with the process of the elections, which are run by the Electoral Commission (IEC), and have called for a recount of votes.
“We would like to assure South Africans that the law enforcement agencies stand ready to maintain peace and stability as they have done throughout the elections period.” police minister Bheki Cele said on Sunday. “Any attempt to undermine the authority of the state and SA’s constitutional order will not be tolerated and will be dealt with accordingly.”
The two-week countdown for political parties to form a new coalition government begins on Monday after the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) announced the outcomes of the elections on Sunday showing no outright winner.
The first sitting of the National Assembly must occur no more than 14 days after election results are declared.
If, for any reason, the result of the election is not declared in terms of section 190, or if a court sets aside the election, the current president under section 49 (3), “by proclamation, must call and set dates for another election, which must be held within 90 days of the expiry of that period or of the date on which the election was set aside”.
The contest for a piece of the governance pie among political parties is expected to be fierce as each party places its respective coalition demands on the table. Though the ANC’s electoral majority has been reduced it is expected to dominate coalition talks as most parties have indicated a willingness to work with it.
“There are many options on the table. We need stability in this country. We will put the interests of the people of this country first,” ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said at a media briefing at the IEC’s national results centre in Midrand.
He, however, said President Cyril Ramaphosa stepping down as president “was a no-go zone”.
The ANC national executive committee is meeting on Tuesday while the DA’s federal executive council met on Sunday to chart the way forward.
On Monday, the electoral court will hear Jabulani Khumalo’s urgent application against the IEC. Khumalo, the founder of MK, was expelled earlier this year and replaced with Zuma. He wants the court to declare his removal as invalid, unlawful and to set it aside.
The court case comes after the newly formed MK party overtook the EFF as the third largest party in the general elections having won 14.5% of the votes.
Zuma has called for a revote disputing the tallied votes by the IEC.
“In my view, SA had been deteriorating in what we envisaged it to be. I am worried now that there are wrong things that happened during counting by the institution which should handle this for us, guided by principle and laws,” he said on Saturday evening.
“Nobody must force us to accept the results, when the results are not fine. The institution needs to satisfy us. Nobody must declare tomorrow and, if it does, they will be provoking us. Do not start trouble when there is no trouble, give the political parties the opportunity to present their cases, do not rush us,” he said.
Former National Assembly speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula’s corruption court case is back in court on Tuesday. She was granted R50,000 bail in April.
Mapisa-Nqakula could potentially be charged with 12 counts of corruption and bribery related to her tenure as the minister of defence. She is accused of soliciting more than R4m in bribes in return for government tenders from a former defence department contractor, who has become a witness for the prosecution.
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