Early election results: DA to retain Western Cape, ANC holding Gauteng

With roughly 20% of all election results counted on Thursday morning, the intense battle in two of the most keenly-fought provinces is starting to take shape. The Western Cape and Gauteng have been identified as the two tightest areas, with the ANC and DA looking to nick each other's territory.

The campaigning in both regions has been relentless. In the Cape, there have been suggestions that the DA's 59% majority will be eaten away. Meanwhile, the ANC's stronghold in Gauteng is also set to come under some severe pressure, with last week's polls showing the Blues had made-up ground on the governing party.

Latest national election results for Thursday 9 MayWe've also got a rough idea of how things are going to look in the National Assembly, too: The ANC may be looking at a reduced majority, dipping to 54.71% of the vote. The DA, meanwhile, is polling above the 26% mark.

That would be a record total for them, but we must stress that millions of votes are still to be counted. The EFF is on 7.98% so far after a sluggish start, but there seems to be good news for Freedom Front Plus (3.39%) and the Inkatha Freedom Party (1.54%), who make up the top five.

The battle for Gauteng and the Western CapeBut, with the results trickling in throughout the day, we're starting to get a clearer picture of how these local votes are shaping up. Here's how the land lies on the morning after

For more on how the national elections are shaping up, visit our live blog here.

Latest election results from Gauteng: The story so farThe DA is hellbent on wrestling control of Gauteng away from the ANC. Ex-Tshwane Mayor Solly Msimanga even left his role to become the party's premier candidate. However, early indications predict that David Makhura will retain control in the province by a whisker.

Now, when we say early, we mean it in all earnest. As of 7:45 on Thursday morning, just 12.52% of votes had been counted in Gauteng's districts. The EFF made early strides, but there's daylight between them and the official opposition. Meanwhile, the FF+ has also made a dent in the results.

Here's how the picture looks for Gauteng before the IEC's first press briefing of the day:

ANC: 51.64%

DA: 27.01%

EFF: 13.36%

Freedom Front Plus: 3.99%

African Christian Democratic Party: 0.78%

IFP: 0.57%

Latest election results from the Western Cape: Who's in the lead?Although these first few results suggest that the DA won't be seizing Gauteng, the outlook is good for their Western Cape operations. They also have the benefit of more votes being counted here, too: With 40% of the ballots tallied up, it seems that the province is going to stay blue.

Fears that Patricia de Lille's Good Party could significantly hamper the DA's cause have been unfounded so far, but Aunty Pat will be pleased as punch with the early signs: As of 7:45 on Tuesday, Good have moved ahead of the EFF and into third place on the provincial ballot.

Here's how the picture looks for the Western Cape before the IEC's first press briefing of the day:

DA: 56.97%

ANC: 26.78%

Good: 3.33%

EFF: 2.92%

African Christian Democratic Party: 2.6%

Freedom Front Plus 2.04%

These results ARE NOT final, and merely indicate the state of play so far. As this changes, we'll bring you more updates.

Tags: 2019 South African ElectionsGautengSouth AfricaWestern Cape

LINK:	https://www.thesouthafrican.com/early-election-results-latest-gauteng-...
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