Voting stations have now officially closed, marking the end of Election Day 2024 in South Africa.

Citizens who remained in line at 9 pm will still be attended to by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) and will retain the opportunity to cast their votes.

In several areas, particularly in metropolitan centers, lengthy queues of voters were visible, with millions of South Africans heading to voting stations to exercise their hard-earned right to vote.

During a media briefing on Wednesday evening, Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo stated that the commission had enacted plans to expedite service in these areas.

“We implemented measures such as calling in counting officers earlier than scheduled to assist with queue management,” Mamabolo explained.

He outlined the process for counting as it begins.

“At each voting station, ballots are counted on-site. Party agents, independent candidate agents, and observers oversee the entire counting process and result compilation.”

Mamabolo elaborated, “Sealed ballot boxes are opened and emptied in full view, with each ballot carefully inspected for the Electoral Commission’s security stamp. Valid ballots are sorted by party or candidate, packed into bundles, and counts confirmed.”

“Results slips are completed by the Presiding Officer, with party and independent candidate agents countersigning to verify accuracy,” he continued.

These slips are then transported to the Commission’s local office for further processing.

“At the local IEC office, the results are scanned into the system, creating digital images accessible to political parties at the Results Operations Centre,” Mamabolo stated.

“After capturing, the results undergo auditing. Once audited and cleared, they are reflected on the leader board at the Results Operations Centre,” he added.

Mamabolo cautioned that results might take longer due to the introduction of three ballot papers instead of two.

Counting is slated to commence at each voting station upon serving the final voter.