TimesLIVE - In The News

Maimane critiques the DA's form of 'tolerance'

Founder of One South Africa Movement, Mmusi Maimane, spoke to Eusebius McKaiser about how his exit from the Democratic Alliance as their leader has allowed him to grow, including his new "lit" persona on Twitter. Maimane criticized his former party, the Democratic Alliance, for "preaching tolerance" while not being tolerant…

4 Nov 2021 5AM 1 min

"I will run for president in this country" - Maimane says he will re-enter politics

Founder of One South Africa Movement, Mmusi Maimane, spoke to Eusebius McKaiser about how his exit from the Democratic Alliance as their leader has allowed him to grow, including his new "lit" persona on Twitter. On Eusebius on TimesLIVE, he also critiqued the current electoral system, and explained why reform…

4 Nov 2021 5AM 1 min

DA leader John Steenhuisen outlines coalition negotiation plans

As political parties begin to consolidate their grip on various municipalities, one thing that DA leader John Steenhuisen does not want, “is to form unstable coalitions.” “We are not going to rush into any knee-jerk reactions or hasty decisions. This needs to be a deliberate decision that goes the distance…

3 Nov 2021 11AM 3 min

'We are not desperate,' says ANC as it prepares to enter coalition talks

The ANC said on Wednesday it is not desperate to form governments of coalition in several municipalities across the country after not being able to win with outright majority. The party has maintained that despite a poor showing at the local government elections, it will not be going into coalition…

3 Nov 2021 11AM 3 min

DA’s John Steenhuisen confident party will govern City of Cape Town for another five years

DA leader John Steenhuisen on Wednesday told the media that early predictions showed that the party will again govern the City of Cape Town for another five years. “We can confirm that we will govern the City of Cape Town with our own majority. We predicting that it will be…

3 Nov 2021 9AM 1 min

‘Anyone but the ANC’: ActionSA on coalitions talks

The City of Johannesburg is likely to have a government of coalitions that will exclude the ANC if ActionSA has its way. On Tuesday night the political party held its senate meeting on coalitions where it was decided they should consult with their voters — in a similar fashion to…

3 Nov 2021 7AM 5 min

Survey shows SA’s voting public was satisfied with their experience

With the finalisation of results 71% completed, the time to assess the effectiveness of the Electoral Commission’s (IEC) 2021 local government election rollout is upon us. A post-voting satisfaction survey conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) suggests most South Africans who took the time to go to the…

3 Nov 2021 6AM 6 min

DA will retain Tshwane, says confident executive mayor Randall Williams

Tshwane’s executive mayor Randall Williams cut a confident figure at the Electoral Commission of SA’s national results operation centre in Pretoria on Monday. He is so buoyant in his belief that no party will dislodge the DA from governing the highly contested Tshwane metro, that he cannot wait for the…

2 Nov 2021 12PM 10 min

ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba excited by his party’s performance, but unenthralled by the IEC

ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba believes his new political party is doing well in its first electoral race. ActionSA boasts fourth spot in Gauteng, following the ANC, DA and EFF respectively. The party has earned 6% of the area's votes thus far. While it is still early in the counting process,…

2 Nov 2021 11AM 3 min

The blame game — who should be held responsible for low voter turnout? 

The National Results Operations Centre (ROC) is hard at work counting, but unfortunately there are not as many votes to count as were anticipated. Paul Berkowitz, director of The Third Republic, said this year’s voter turnout is the likely to be the lowest SA has seen since its first democratic…

2 Nov 2021 10AM 8 min

IEC apologises to Change Party for error in PR ballot papers

The IEC has apologised to the Change Party for an error on the proportional representation (PR) ballot papers in Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg. According to reports, the party’s president Lesiba Molokomme raised the matter with the commission after it was discovered that the party’s name had been replaced with that of another…

2 Nov 2021 7AM 3 min

Plans in place to minimise impact of load-shedding: IEC

The Electoral Commission reports that as at 10.30am this morning, 27% of the 64,502 results expected had been finalised. This status is in line with expected result capturing process. It is estimated that 90% of results would be finalised by evening. The balance of 10% would take another 24 hours…

2 Nov 2021 7AM 1 min

FULL ADDRESS | IEC gives update on progress of local government elections

The IEC gave an update on the progress of the local government elections. Although voter turnout has been said to be low across SA, it has been an eventful election day, with protests of service delivery also taking place in parts of the country. Some South Africans used the day to…

1 Nov 2021 3PM 57 min

Helen Zille opens assault case after clash with police at EC voting station

Police watchdog Ipid is investigating a case of assault against an Eastern Cape police officer who is accused of dragging DA federal council chair Helen Zille out of the Fernwood Park Primary School voting station in Bethelsdorp on Monday. An internal police report indicated that Zille had opened a case…

1 Nov 2021 12PM 1 min

Citizens need to take seriously the impact of the electoral system 

Despite most areas starting election day on a good footing, there were some communities protesting about service delivery and interruptions which may have disrupted the voting process. The IEC addressed some of these disruptions during a media briefing on Monday afternoon. Lecturer in the department of political and international studies…

1 Nov 2021 11AM 6 min

IEC identifies cases of electoral fraud

SA’s 2021 local government elections have got off to a fair start, with more than 99% of the 23,148 voting stations opening on time and getting under way with the voting process as planned. Unfortunately, in a briefing given by the Electoral Commission of SA's (IEC's) chairperson Glen Mashinini halfway…

1 Nov 2021 10AM 2 min

Election day off to a good start, but not without a few hiccups

In an update provided by the IEC on Monday afternoon, the electoral body said the elections had got off to a positive start with more than 99% of the 23,148 voting stations opened on time to kickstart voting in the 2021 Municipal Elections. However, the IEC outlined several problem it…

1 Nov 2021 8AM 9 min

Response regarding an incident between police and a television journalist at a polling station in Soweto

Police were forced to remove a television journalist and a cameraman from a polling station in Orlando East, Soweto after they allegedly interfered with the work of the presiding officer at that station.

1 Nov 2021 6AM 3 min

Transgender teen recounts her battles with home affairs

The department of home affairs has continued to come under criticism for the discrimination of non-binary people, especially transgender people. This is in relation to the process of changing one's legal markers, including name and gender, on various legal documentation. This is the unfortunate reality of a Johannesburg pupil who…

29 Oct 2021 10AM 5 min

Rampant plant poaching threatens SA’s biodiversity

SA’s rare and endangered succulents, some hundreds of years old and growing only on specific mountain slopes, are being wiped out by poachers. Plant poaching, warns World Wildlife Fund SA (WWF SA), as well as private nursery owners and collectors, have exploded in the country since January, with international organised…

29 Oct 2021 9AM 7 min