News 08:00
BULLETIN 5 November 8 am
Good morning. I am……..
In this bulletin:
# The IEC says marked ballot photo reports must be investigated
# The EFF lodges a complaint over alleged election irregularities in the Eastern Cape
# And, Israel’s Election Commission finds no evidence of irregularities in last week’s elections
# Electoral Commission chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo says he is unaware of reports that a prominent public figure allegedly shared images of their marked ballot paper on social media. Actor Tumisho Masha photographed his marked ballot paper and posted it on social media. The shared image showed his inked thumb alongside a City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Council ballot paper marked in favour of ActionSA. Mamabolo says the Electoral Act clearly makes a photographic image of marked ballot papers strictly prohibited:
Meanwhile, the EFF in the Eastern Cape has lodged a formal complaint with the Electoral Commission after discovering a ballot box containing special votes allegedly opened without the presence of party agents in the Nomandamba Voting District. The party claims several ballot papers were missing when it inspected the box. The EFF’s Veronica Mente says the IEC suspended counting in the affected voting district last night and quarantined all election materials. She says police escorted the ballot boxes to a central counting venue:
# Parliament’s portfolio committee on International Relations and Cooperation says the withdrawal of South Africa’s benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act is a concerning development for trade, employment and bilateral relations. In 2025, about 89-percent of South African exports to the US were under ordinary World Trade Organisation most-favoured-nation terms, while only approximately ten-percent were AGOA exports, a decline from 28-percent in 2024. Committee chairperson Supra Mahumapelo says this development reinforces the importance of diversifying export markets, deepening regional trade and strengthening relationships with a broad range of partners.
# Israel’s Election Commission says it found no evidence of irregularities or fraud that compromised the integrity of last week’s parliamentary election or affected its results. Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose far-right coalition lost its governing majority, made unsubstantiated claims that Arab-led parties had “stolen” the election, possibly with foreign assistance. The country’s president, Isaac Herzog, has accepted the certified results and has begun consultations with political parties on whom to task with forming a new coalition government.
# Tennis: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic has failed to qualify for the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin for only the second time. The 39-year-old, who likely needed to reach the semifinals in Paris to qualify, went down 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 to Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata. Djokovic also failed to make the 2017 edition due to an elbow injury. World number one Alexander Zverev of Germany suffered a surprise 7-6, 6-2 defeat to Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti, while Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, now the highest seed remaining, beat American Alex Michelsen in straight sets.
# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-33-cents and the euro at 18-rand-38-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-3-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 80-thousand-607-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-133-dollars-59-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 96-dollars-99-cents a barrel.