News 15:00

BULLETIN 6 November 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The ANC acknowledges the need to rebuild voter confidence
# The court rejects Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla’s application to drop the criminal charges against her
# And rugby: Ireland and the Pumas kick off the Nations Championship’s northern chapter in Dublin

# The ANC is undertaking a deep reflection as it analyses its election performance and the concerns raised by its traditional supporters. Speaking at the Electoral Commission’s results operations centre, spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu says the party recognises the need to rebuild public confidence, particularly around service delivery and urban management. She says the ANC will focus on areas where its support has declined:

The IEC is meanwhile investigating an incident of interference at a counting station in Douglas in the Northern Cape, where ballot papers were allegedly torn before counting could begin. The IEC’s deputy CEO for Electoral Operations, Masego Sheburi, says members of a political party stormed and laid siege to the counting station. He says at least one-thousand-300 ballots were cast at the affected station. The IEC is considering how the incident will affect the votes, describing the conduct as unacceptable.

# The KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban has dismissed former president Jacob Zuma’s daughter’s application to have the charges against her in connection with the July 2021 unrest dropped. Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla is accused of inciting terrorism and public violence through social media posts following her father’s imprisonment. The case has been postponed to 17 May next year for further legal arguments. Zuma-Sambudla said outside court she would continue fighting to prove her innocence:

Moving abroad:

# New Zealand’s election campaign has entered its final day, with the governing National Party and opposition Labour still neck and neck in the polls. Prime minister Christopher Luxon and Labour leader Chris Hipkins made their final appeals to voters earlier today ahead of tomorrow’s vote. The latest poll puts Labour on 30.7-percent and National on 26.4-percent. Neither is expected to win enough seats to govern alone, leaving smaller parties, particularly the centrist Opportunity Party, potentially the king maker. Economic pressures and the cost of living have dominated the campaign.

# Rugby: The Nations Championship’s northern chapter kicks off in Dublin tonight, where Ireland will host Argentina. Kick-off is just after eight o’clock. Tomorrow, the Springboks will play Italy in Turin from 1.40 in the afternoon, followed by the match between Scotland and the All Blacks at Murrayfield in Edinburgh. Then Wales will welcome Japan to Cardiff, and France and Fiji will face off in Lyon. On Sunday afternoon, England and the Wallabies will do battle at Twickenham in London.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-52-cents and the euro at 18-rand-47-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-14-cents and Bitcoin trades at 76-thousand-59-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-and-71-dollars-98-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 101-dollars-97-sents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….