WEBVTT - KZN elections update

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<v Speaker 1>We go now to Guadalupe Natal, where our eyewitness news reporter,

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<v Speaker 1>Tabiso Gorba, is joining us this afternoon. Tabiso, great to

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<v Speaker 1>chat to you again. I understand KZN flying a bit

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<v Speaker 1>of a flag for voter turnout. It looks like you've

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<v Speaker 1>come in a little bit higher than the national average.

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<v Speaker 1>Good afternoon.

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<v Speaker 2>Good afternoon, yes. Voter turnout is just 49%. So that's

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<v Speaker 2>obviously very good for Guadalupe Natal. I think there was

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<v Speaker 2>about 6 million registered voters So 49%, you're probably looking

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<v Speaker 2>at about 3 million people who were registered to vote

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<v Speaker 2>that did turn up at the polls to vote. So ideally,

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<v Speaker 2>the KZN would have liked to be over 50%, but

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<v Speaker 2>you know, you take what you can get.

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<v Speaker 1>Look, it's still a long way to go, Tabiso, but

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<v Speaker 1>I know 26% of the KZN votes have been captured.

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<v Speaker 1>And it's a very interesting and quite hotly contested top

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<v Speaker 1>of the leaderboard. Do you want to run us through

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<v Speaker 1>the picture of what's happening in your province?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, I think the story today is definitely the Mkonto

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<v Speaker 2>Isisor party. I mean, this is something we've obviously expected.

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<v Speaker 2>I think, one, the Mkonto Isisor party has now won

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<v Speaker 2>its first municipality outright. The Richmond local municipality here in KwaZulu-Natal,

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<v Speaker 2>the MK party got an outright majority, winning 56% of

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<v Speaker 2>that municipality. So that means they're going to be governing

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<v Speaker 2>it alone, no coalitions, nothing whatsoever. But also another interesting

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<v Speaker 2>thing is that Five councils, they've already finished counting five councils.

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<v Speaker 2>And out of these five councils, the NK party is

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<v Speaker 2>the leading party in four out of the five councils

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<v Speaker 2>where counting has been completed. The other one party is

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<v Speaker 2>the ISP. So a very, very big showing for the

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<v Speaker 2>NK party. But we're still waiting on those big municipalities especially, obviously,

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<v Speaker 2>where we currently are, Etigwini Municipality. We know that's the

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<v Speaker 2>big one. That's the one that everyone wants here in KwaZulu-Natal.

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<v Speaker 1>Etigwini previously, obviously, a hung council with the ANC on 42%,

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<v Speaker 1>the DA 26% and the EFF 10.5%, if I'm remembering correctly.

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<v Speaker 1>Looks or sounds like, I mean, if this trend continues

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<v Speaker 1>like that, picture could change quite dramatically.

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<v Speaker 2>It would change. I think the entire election map in

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<v Speaker 2>KwaZulu-Natal has changed dramatically due to the emergence of the

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<v Speaker 2>Om Kondo Isidro Party. I mean, we've spoken to the DA,

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<v Speaker 2>the ANC, and even the MK Party itself. The picture

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<v Speaker 2>that's emerging here in Itsegwini is that the MK Party

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<v Speaker 2>is likely going to be the party with the most votes, however,

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<v Speaker 2>it is not going to be getting a majority. And

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<v Speaker 2>that is going to be very interesting because you remember

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<v Speaker 2>that in 2024, in the provincial election, the NK party

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<v Speaker 2>got the most votes in KZN. It got 45%, which

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<v Speaker 2>was the most of any party. However, the other parties,

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<v Speaker 2>the ANC, DA, IFP, and the NFP, they got to

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<v Speaker 2>form the coalition that effectively pushed out the NK party,

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<v Speaker 2>even though the NK party had a lot of votes.

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<v Speaker 2>And I can tell you right now that just based

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<v Speaker 2>on the conversations that we've had, I suspect a similar

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<v Speaker 2>thing might also be brewing here in the Teguini way.

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<v Speaker 2>The DA, the ANC, and those other political parties might

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<v Speaker 2>just decide that they form a coalition party, regardless of

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<v Speaker 2>the fact that the Omkonto is a party, might get

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<v Speaker 2>the most votes in the Teguini way.

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<v Speaker 1>Tabisa, anything else you'd like to flag that I haven't

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<v Speaker 1>asked you about, whether it's to do with any issues

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<v Speaker 1>or problems around voting, complaints being lodged, or particular results

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<v Speaker 1>that are surprising or stunning?

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<v Speaker 2>I think the one thing, you know, coming into this

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<v Speaker 2>election period, KwaZulu-Natal was identified as one of the hotspot

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<v Speaker 2>areas for election-related crimes. I think there was about 165

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<v Speaker 2>voting stations that were classified as high risk by the police.

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<v Speaker 2>And I think what we've experienced over the last two days,

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<v Speaker 2>we also had a media briefing with the KZN police,

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<v Speaker 2>is that there hasn't been any incidents of any violence

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<v Speaker 2>or anything that sort of disrupted the election process. Obviously,

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<v Speaker 2>like any other part of the country, there were those

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<v Speaker 2>isolated incidents of people fighting, of people, you know, of

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<v Speaker 2>people fighting or people disrupting the election process through other means,

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<v Speaker 2>but nothing major or nothing that we've seen in the

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<v Speaker 2>run-up to these elections where we've seen cars being torched

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<v Speaker 2>on the streets, people being killed on the streets, shops

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<v Speaker 2>being looted and damaged. So it was a relatively peaceful

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<v Speaker 2>election night, election day here in KZN.

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<v Speaker 1>Good to hear it. Tabisa Gorba, thank you so much

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<v Speaker 1>for the update. Speaking to us from the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands there.

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<v Speaker 1>And yeah, the MK results, certainly the ones to keep

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<v Speaker 1>an eye on. Again, it's very, very early days there.

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<v Speaker 1>Only sort of a small number of the votes, percentage

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<v Speaker 1>of the votes rather, captured 26%. and still a long

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<v Speaker 1>way to go. But the parties at the top of

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<v Speaker 1>the board, MK on 33% overall for the province, the

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<v Speaker 1>IFP on 22% and the ANC on 25%. The next closest,

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<v Speaker 1>as I take a look here, is the DA on 10%. Again,

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<v Speaker 1>that's only with just over a quarter of the vote.