MK Party Accuses IEC of Vote Rigging: Calls for Recount Across Key Provinces

• The uMkhonto we Sizwe Party has accused the Independent Electoral Commission of vote rigging in the 2024 General Election
• The party has complained and requested a manual recount of the votes in Mpumalanga, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal
• Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla has further accused the commission of being in partnership with the ANC and DA in the alleged crime

Zingisa Chirwa is an experienced Briefly News journalist based in Johannesburg, South Africa, who has covered elections and current affairs on the radio for over 15 years.

The MK Party has accused the IEC of vote rigging and has called for a recount of ballots from Mpumalanga, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

MK Party calls for manual vote recount

Secretary General Sihle Ngubane lodged a dispute with the commission over the electronic system used to tally the votes.

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The party's Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla shared the letter on X on 31 May 2024. In the post, @DZumaSambudla didn't mince her words accusing the IEC of being in cahoots with the ANC and the DA:

On the other hand, @EFFSouthAfrica has called for a press briefing at the National ROC at Gallagher Estate in Midrand on 1 June 2024:

After tallying 97.25% of the voting districts, the IEC's results dashboard stated that the ANC garnered 40.13% of the vote nationally, followed by the DA and MK Party at 21.72% and 14.82% respectively.

South Africans split over the accusation

Netizens are divided over the MK Party's accusation. Some believed vote rigging was a possibility, while others weren't convinced.

@visse_ss suspected:

“They are rigging... Numbers are coming in but their system doesn't update those numbers.”

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@gnont pointed out:

“Am also worried cz am sure in KZN about 4m people voted for MKP”

@SobzDJ said:

“IEC forgot that party agents already have results from each VD… now they need to answer!”

@StiloMa77932773 asked:

"So, the ANC rigged votes to make itself lose?"

@nsikool added:

“The same IEC that conducted the elections that got your dad elected twice?”

IEC display board glitch sparks doubts

Briefly News reported that the IEC display boards' malfunction raised eyebrows among many South Africans on social media.

The commission's leaderboards reportedly malfunctioned for almost two hours countrywide on 31 May 2024. The IEC released a statement explaining that the information and vote-capturing were exposed during that period.

Source: Briefly News