News 13:00

BULLETIN 31 May 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA reiterates its commitment to the multi-party charter
# The former presidents of Kenya and Nigeria praise the IEC’s voting process
# And rugby: The Blitzbok coach wants consistency in Madrid 

# The DA has reiterated its commitment to the multi-party charter despite reports of the ANC considering working with them if it fails to secure a parliamentary majority. DA spokesperson Solly Malatsi says there have been no coalition talks with the ANC. He says the DA remains devoted to the multi-party charter, and all member parties should aim to grow collectively to strengthen their position of a 50-percent plus one majority. Malatsi says the charter will convene after the official results to discuss the coalition’s future direction.

With just over 61-percent of the votes counted, the ANC remains in the lead nationally at 41.94-percent. The DA is currently second at 22.97-percent and the MK Party at 11.66-percent. In Gauteng, the ANC leads with 33.57-percent followed by the DA at 29.31-percent and the EFF at 12.55-percent. In the hotly contested KwaZulu-Natal, MK is at 43.95-percent, the ANC second with 18.98-percent and the IFP at 15.42-percent. In the Western Cape, the DA leads with 52.85-percent, followed by the ANC at 20.41-percent and the Patriotic Alliance at 8.96-percent.

Meanwhile, former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta and former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan say they are confident the Electoral Commission will issue credible election results. Both led international observer missions to South Africa for the elections. Kenyatta expressed hope that some of the system glitches experienced at voting stations on Wednesday can be prevented in future:

# Rugby: The Springbok Sevens completed their preparations for the final tournament of the series, the Grand Final, played in Madrid this weekend. All eight teams will complete their pool games today and tomorrow, with the top two sides from each pool progressing to Sunday’s semifinals. Blitzbok coach Philip Snyman says the team needs to return to their proven ability of winning all six matches at a tournament:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-85-cents and the euro at 20-rand-43-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-96-cents and Bitcoin trades at 67-thousand-920-dollars-70-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-342-dollars-14-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 82-dollars-3-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Sony Music is reportedly in talks to buy Queen’s music catalogue for over 18-billion-rand. The rock band, fronted by Freddie Mercury until he died in 1991, is famous for hits including Bohemian Rhapsody, We Will Rock You and Another One Bites The Dust. Earlier this year, Sony also acquired a 50-percent interest in Michael Jackson’s music from the late singer’s estate. Stars including Beyoncé, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Shakira and Barry Manilow have all sold off their music rights in recent years.

Stay tuned for more news………….