The Congress of the People (Cope) was keenly watching the effect that township votes would have on its results, which so far placed it third on the board of national election results displayed at the Independent Electoral Commission on Thursday.

"We are just waiting for the township votes to come in and then the whole thing will swing," said party worker Johan Kilian, predicting that the gap between itself and the Democratic Alliance (DA) would narrow.

Kilian said they were delighted that by midday they had emerged as the party with the third largest support base, after the African National Congress (ANC) and the DA.

The party, formed out of a breakaway from the ANC when former President Thabo Mbeki was forced to resign last year, has variously said it would win the elections or be the official opposition.

Cope had received 8,03% of the vote by 12:30, the DA 18,3% and the ANC 64,55%.

He said it looked like a "photo finish" in the Free State, and they were "way ahead" of other opposition parties in the Northern Cape and Limpopo.

"In the Eastern Cape, we are obviously already heading for the official opposition. The ANC will take that."

In that province early results showed that they were almost double the United Democratic Movement, where the province is considered their stronghold.

"It is something close to a miracle," said Kilian, showing his cellphone and his keys and joking that that was his office.

"Our total budget was less than R12-million, we didn't get anything from the State. The ANC harassed us with the name story too," he said, referring to court challenges over their initial choices of a name.

National Executive Committee member Julie Kilian said the township votes were important to watch.

"Poorer people rely heavily on the state," she explained, adding that for many people the ANC and the State was synonymous and the perception will take time to change.

"It's amazing," she said of the party's support so far.

"Someone said it was like a four-month-old baby suddenly finding itself in a war zone."