The Democratic Alliance (DA) would like to thank the people of South Africa, who, despite the cold and wet weather today, cast their ballots in this watershed Election.

Every vote cast today, was important and will contribute to our mission to Build One South Africa for All.

The DA thanks the millions of brave South Africans who gave change a chance and came out in support of the Party.

We would like to congratulate the thousands of DA party agents across the country, who closely monitored every voting station to ensure the integrity of on this election.

Unfortunately, there have been numerous challenges experienced at various voting stations across the country. Challenges experienced include defective ink, a number of voting stations running out of ballot papers and polling stations not opening on time. We trust that the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) will attend to all our complaints comprehensively and speedily. It is important that we verify whether or not this was a free and fair election for all political parties contesting and the electorate who voted.

All eyes are now on the IEC, which is responsible for the mammoth task of counting each and every ballot and dealing with the numerous complaints that have been lodged today.

The DA will be present at the Result Operations Centre from this evening until Friday, to closely monitor this process.

We remain confident that we are on track to meet our targets and realise our vision to build One South Africa for All.

Issued by DA