The Independent Electoral Commission is auditing the 2006 local government election results

RELATED LINKS: Problem-free election day QUEUES were generally short and polling stations reported few problems across Joburg. Most voters were pleased with the quick progress past the ballot box, and gave the elections the thumbs up. Read more Gauteng 'ready for the elections' PREPARATIONS for the municipal elections on 1 March began after the 2004 national elections, making the province and Joburg "more than ready" for the vote. Read more Independent Electoral Commission For the latest results, click here.

Voters at a polling station on Wednesday, 1 March

ANC is frontrunner, but counting is not over yet With nearly 63 percent of the votes counted so far, the ANC is set to keep a strong power base in Joburg. The IEC expects to announce the final results on Saturday, 4 March, well within the seven-day counting period. March 3, 2006 By Ndaba Dlamini TWO days after the national municipal elections, counting and auditing of votes is going on in earnest with overall ward election results in the City of Johannesburg expected to be announced by Saturday, 4 March. By 9.15am on Friday, the Independent Electoral Commission had already officially declared ward winners in 63 out of 109 ward seats in Joburg. "We are well within the seven days counting and auditing period and are still working hard to have the full election results for the City of Johannesburg ready by Saturday," says Sy Mamabolo, the IEC's Gauteng provincial electoral officer. Out of a possible 1 575 788 votes in Joburg, a total of 1 267 509 votes have been counted so far, with voter turnout hovering at 40,32 percent. Currently Ward 23 has the highest turnout, with 13 935 votes counted. There are 217 councillors in Johannesburg, made up of 109 ward councillors who are directly elected and 108 councillors who are elected in terms of a party list system. These are known as proportional representation or PR councillors. With 17 political parties contesting the municipal elections in the city, the African National Congress (ANC) is leading the pack with 390 959 votes, or 62,92 percent of the total votes counted so far. It is followed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) with 167 154 votes, or 26,9 percent of the total votes. Other parties making a mark in the city are the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) with 20 730 votes and the Independent Democrats (IND) with 12 207 votes. Smaller parties are struggling to register their presence in the municipal elections, however. These include the African Christian Democratic Party with 6 125 votes, or 0,99 percent of total votes and the Pan African Congress of Azania with 5 164 votes, or 0,83 percent of total votes. The parties with the lowest support are the Black Consciousness Forum with 405 votes, or 0,07 percent of the total votes and the Economic Freedom Movement with 308 votes, or 0,05 percent of the total votes. By 11.40am on Friday, 3 March, the ANC had secured 71 ward seats, followed by the DA with 25 wards. The IFP and the IND had managed to win two wards and one ward, respectively. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za