News 12:00

BULLETIN 1 June 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The IEC is not ruling out the possibility of a recount
# The UN chief welcomes Israel’s new proposal to end the war in Gaza
# And, Rugby: Drua ends the Crusaders’ hopes of reaching the Super Rugby quarter-finals

# The Electoral Commission says it is not ruling out the possibility of a recount. This comes amid formal objections from several political parties citing numerous inconsistencies with the counting process. Among the parties calling for a recount, is the MK Party, which expressed rejection of the outcome of results in certain provinces. IEC general manager Granville Abrahams says a decision on the matter is yet to be made:

The DA secured 75.23-percent of the votes cast outside of the country. South Africans abroad voted on the weekend of the 17th to the 19th of May. The EFF received 4.4-percent of the votes followed by the ANC at 3.92-percent, RISE Mzansi got 3.54-percent and the Freedom Front Plus rounds off the top five with 3.03-percent. A total of 39-thousand-116 votes were cast of which 32 were spoilt leaving 39-thousand-84 valid votes.

Meanwhile, with just over 98.45-percent of voting districts completed the ANC leads nationally with 40.23-percent followed by the DA at 21.67-percent and the MK Party at 14.73-percent. In the hotly contested KwaZulu-Natal, MK is leading with 45.35-percent followed by the IFP at 18.04-percent and the ANC third with 16.97-percent. In Gauteng, the ANC leads with 34.55-percent followed by the DA at 27.77-percent and the EFF has 12.89-percent. In the Western Cape, the DA is maintaining its majority with 55.34-percent followed by the ANC at 19.45-percent and the Patriotic Alliance at 7.85-percent.

# United Nations secretary-general António Guterres has welcomed Israel’s new proposal for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The three-part proposal would begin with a six-week ceasefire in which the Israel Defence Forces would withdraw from Gaza, release of hostages in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners being freed, and surge of humanitarian aid. UN’s spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, says the situation in Gaza is dire:

# And, rugby: The Fijian Drua overwhelmed the Melbourne Rebels 40-19 to snatch the last Super Rugby quarter-final berth. This ended the play-off hopes of champions the Canterbury Crusaders. The Drua scored three tries early in the second half for a bonus point win that lifted them to seventh. The Rebels will finish eighth, meaning they’ll play the first post-season match in their 14-season history in next week’s quarter-finals. It could be their last match, after a private bid was rejected to save the debt-laden club and it would be shut down.

Stay tuned for more news………….