For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Halima Frost.

Making headlines: ActionSA claims ballot paper name exclusion prejudiced it; Survey finds that 84% of voters confident in vote counting process; And, AA claims that fuel price shocker delayed till after election to protect the ANC

ActionSA claims ballot paper name exclusion prejudiced it

With 65% of the municipal votes having been announced, ActionSA says there is tangible proof that the absence of the party's name from ward ballot papers has significantly prejudiced it.

ActionSA national chairperson Michael Beaumont said the party's analysis showed a significantly lower voting percentage in the ward ballot, which excluded the party's name, compared to the proportional representation ballot.

Beaumont said the party is analysing the impact of the name absence on the ballot paper, on the ward ballot in particular actually, which does not have the name ActionSA, and the results are quite frightening.

He said the results reveal that the party is sitting on 30% less on the ward ballot than it is on the PR ballot.

Survey finds that 84% of voters confident in vote counting process

The Human Sciences Research Council’s elections satisfaction survey has found that 84% of voters were completely or very confident that their vote would be accurately counted.

The research is based on random voting stations and about 12 000 voters were interviewed. Voters were asked about their experiences and whether they believed the election was free and fair.

The HSRC selected a sample of 300 voting stations across provinces and interviewed 50 voters at each of the voting stations.

HSRC acting strategic leader and research director Dr Benjamin Roberts presented the preliminary findings of the ESS to the Electoral Commission, further explaining that the survey found that 52% of voters were completely confident in the counting process while 32% of voters were very confident.

Only 1% said they were not confident at all in the vote counting process.

And, AA claims that fuel price shocker delayed till after election to protect the ANC

The Automobile Association is accusing the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy of delaying the announcement of a sharp fuel price increase until after the local elections.

In an unusual move, the DMRE announced the fuel hikes around 21:00 on Monday night, as polls were closing. Fuel price changes are typically announced on the last Friday of a month, during business hours.

In a press release dated 28 October 2021 (but only released on 1 November), the DMRE announced a steep 7% hike in the petrol price, which climbed by R1.21 a litre on Wednesday.

The inland price at the pumps has now reached R19.54 for a litre of unleaded 95 petrol. The diesel price climbed by R1.48 a litre, and illuminating paraffin jumped by R1.45 a litre. Petrol is now 40% more expensive than 11 months ago, as the oil price rallied to its highest level in three years, while the rand has been weakening.

The AA says it is deeply concerned by the delayed release of the price hike announcement.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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