This was a wintery (read: rainy) day in Stellenbosch. We had our usual routine, Catherine at daycare, Mark at school, Tracy doing research, and I was working in Stellenbosch today.
The election results are pouring in, but they're not complete. Final results will probably be provided over the weekend, for sure by Wednesday, the Independent Electoral Commission's deadline. As of this writing, the ANC has an expected and commanding lead and will continue to control the national government. However, there are a few interesting developments.
(1) the Democratic Alliance (DA) has declared outright victory in the Western Cape province (the one we live in). It is not yet clear whether they'll receive 50% of the vote (they're at 49% now), thereby avoiding the necessity of forming a coalition with another party.
(2) the ANC (at this point) is set to drop a couple percentage points in the national vote from the previous election. This is significant, because they're right about at the 2/3 majority point. A 2/3 majority in parliament is required to amend the constitution. Although the ANC has had a 2/3 majority for a couple elections now, they have not amended the constitution.
(3) The new COPE party is running at just under 8% nationally. That's probably a disappointing result for them, even if they'll declare victory with that level of support.
As in 1994, there were long lines at the polling places. See today's front page photo above.
--Matt