News 06:00

BULLETIN 3 June 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Election Commission declares the elections free and fair
# The Lottery Commission cannot account for a R4.5-million payment to a chess association
# And extensive floods in the Eastern Cape leave seven dead and four missing

# The Electoral Commission has declared the 2024 general elections as free and fair. The voter turnout for these elections was 58.61-percent, much lower than the 66-percent in 2019. Over 16-million votes were cast. Speaking at the result announcement in Midrand yesterday evening, IEC CEO, Sy Mamabolo, says in an election the choice of the voter is sovereign and may not be negated. He adds that the voters who cast their ballots are the champions of this democracy:

Meanwhile, the commission chairperson Mosotho Moepya says the elections tested the strength of the institution and showed the resolve of citizens to embrace democracy. The ANC garnered only 40.18-percent of the vote, its lowest ever. The party has a majority in five provinces and fell below 50-percent in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Northern Cape, and Western Cape, which continues to be governed by the DA. Moepya says the IEC never waivered from its commitment to deliver constitutionally compliant elections:

# The National Lottery Commission cannot account for a 4.5-million-rand payment to the nonexistent Phelindaba Chess Association. The national governing body, Chess SA, has no record of this association. The NLC also made unexplained double payments of 9.2-million-rand to Swimming SA in June 2023. An investigation revealed that over 1.43-billion-rand of NLC funds were likely stolen between 2014 and 2020. The NLC has not responded to inquiries about these irregularities.

# Seven people have died while four are missing following heavy rains and localised flooding in the Nelson Mandela Bay metro in the Eastern Cape. More than 500 people have been relocated to areas including Korea, Qunu, Daku, and Moolerground. The destructive rains have affected the power supply to several areas within Gqeberha, including the Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport. The metro says multiple rescue operations remain underway, with teams activated to determine the extent of the flooding, damages, and cause of action.

# Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused China of working hard to stop countries from going to a peace summit, which Beijing has publicly criticised because Russia is not invited. Zelensky made the remarks at a security forum in Singapore as he sought to rally support for the conference and appealed for more military aid for Ukraine, which has been ceding ground to Russian troops. China believes the conference should have the recognition of Russia and Ukraine, equal participation of all parties, and fair discussion of all peace plans.

# Rugby: Springbok Sevens coach Philip Snyman has expressed disappointment at their performance in the Madrid Sevens, the final tournament of the World Series. The Blitzboks had to settle for a sixth-place finish after losing 12-7 in their fifth-place play-off against Ireland. South Africa’s focus now turns firmly to the repechage in Monaco later this month, where they will look to qualify for the Olympics in Paris in July. Snyman says their lack of consistency was clear to see in Spain:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-74-cents and the euro at 20-rand-36-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-91-cents and Bitcoin trades at 68-thousand-131-dollars-47-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-328-dollars-50-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 81-dollars-40-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….