Low voter turnout in our sixth round of municipal elections since 1994 is casting a shadow over our democracy, with millions of disillusioned South Africans opting to make their mark by staying away. Mere hours before the polls closed last night only about 8 million of the country’s total of 26.2 million registered voters made their mark, which doesn’t bode well for the ruling ANC. In Gauteng, ActionSA has emerged as a threat for the ruling party, while in the Western Cape it appears the DA is likely to retain control of Cape Town.
A poll conducted by eNCA and research company Ipsos shows that the low turnout may result in the ANC’s share of the national vote falling to 39%, from 54% in 2016. Several factors are ascribed to the turnout, including the long weekend, inclement weather and power failures. It could also simply be a case of voters saying, ‘I don’t want to vote’, Western Cape Electoral Officer Michael Hendrickse told journalists yesterday.
Also marring the vote was reports of stolen voting data and protests at voting stations and
the IEC’s faulty Voter Management Devices, with the DA filing an official complaint with the electoral commission. The opposition party believes its supporters were being impacted the most by the malfunctioning devices, which were being used for the first time in this year’s elections to track a voter’s registration details. The VMD glitch saw some voting stations stay offline for hours, causing snaking lines.
Latest results show that both the ANC and the DA have seen their support drop substantively in three remote councils in the Northern Cape, while the ANC is leading in the Eastern Cape. You can track all the results here.
Meanwhile, petrol stations are readying for snaking queues of a different kind today as motorists rush to fill up before the record R1.23 and R1.48 increase for a litre of petrol and diesel kicks in at midnight today.
And in the markets, the rand has rebounded from its opening of R15.45 this morning to last trade at R14.38 as local traders return from a long weekend. The local unit closed 1.4% weaker yesterday in an illiquid market due to the local public holiday and is leading the emerging market currencies weaker. “There have been significant losses for the Mexican peso and the Russian ruble despite the dollar ending the day slightly softer yesterday. We have both the Fed’s FOMC and the BOE interest rate decisions this week, and we could see some additional volatility in markets,” comments TreasuryONE.
On the commodities front, gold, platinum and palladium are all trading flat $1,795, $1,064 and $2,053 respectively. Oil is holding on to its overnight gains, with Brent currently trading at $84.78.
Here’s a roundup of the world’s top and most interesting headlines:
SA Business
Load shedding to cost South Africa 350,000 jobs: PwC – BusinessTech
Net1 aims for fintech crown with ‘transformational’ R3.7bn deal to acquire Connect Group – Fin24
Other countries need to help fund South Africa’s new power plans: Ramaphosa – BusinessTech
Global Business
Elon Musk wants proof $6 billion can solve world hunger – Bloomberg
VIPs including Jeff Bezos flew to a climate change conference on 400 private jets, sparking fury over the carbon emissions caused – Business Insider
Elon Musk makes Warren Buffett look like a pauper – TechCentral
Markets
Iron Ore tumbles as steel curbs cut deep in world’s top producer – Bloomberg
Wall Street is amassing a crypto army and paying up for recruits – Bloomberg
It’s last call for cheap beer – Bloomberg
Opinion/In-depth
The great no-vote: South Africa’s return to minority rule – Daily Maverick
‘Greenwashing’ or genuine?: Behind big business’ climate promises – AFP
Is the metaverse really going to happen? Nvidia is betting yes – Bloomberg
Video
Zille opens assault case after she is ‘frog-marched’ out of voting station – News24
Tesla takes the cake – AuzBiz
Barclays CEO resigns after Epstein probe – Reuters
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