Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta has hailed South Africans for their patience in the just concluded general elections.
Uhuru who is the head of the African Union Election Observation Mission (AUEOM) praised their resilience despite significant delays experienced in the process.
He called for more patience while expressing confidence in the electoral commission’s ability to address and resolve the issues going forward.
He made the remarks when he attended a briefing on the progress of results from the recently concluded IEC General Elections at the Results Operation Centre at Gallagher Convention Centre in Johannesburg.
The former Kenyan President was joined by other international observers during the presser. He further emphasized his trust in the electoral system and his belief in the importance of maintaining calm and confidence in the democratic process.
Early results
Early results have been announced from what is seen as South Africa’s most closely fought elections since the African National Congress (ANC) came to power 30 years ago.
With results from around 27% voting districts counted so far, the ANC is leading with 43%, followed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) with 25%.
The radical Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has about 9%, while the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK Party) of former President Jacob Zuma is 8%.
Final results are expected over the weekend.
The initial results suggest the ANC will lose its parliamentary majority for the first time since Nelson Mandela led the party to victory following the end of the racist system of apartheid in 1994.
Additional reporting by BBC
