News 13:00

BULLETIN 1st of June 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The MK Party’s non-negotiable stance for a coalition with the ANC is removing Ramaphosa
# Voters in India flock to the polls in scorching heat on the last day of a six week election
# And, rugby: Drua ends the Crusaders’ hope of reaching the Super Rugby quarter-finals

# Former president Jacob Zuma’s daughter, and MK Party national executive committee member, Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, says the MK Party will uphold its non-negotiables in coalition talks. Speaking at the Results Operations Centre in Midrand, Zuma-Sambudla stated the MK Party would only consider a coalition with the ANC on condition it axes president Cyril Ramaphosa. She says that the MK party would only work with like-minded organisations including the EFF:

Meanwhile, Build One South Africa leader Mmusi Maimane says he accepts the outcome of the elections. The party received just 0.4-percent of the votes nationally. Briefing the media at the IEC National Results Operations Centre in Midrand today, Maimane, says BOSA is still determined to build an inclusive and non-racial South Africa which puts the needs of South Africans first:

And, the ANC remains in the lead nationally as the Electoral Commission is nearly complete with processing the voting district results. Preliminary results show the ANC at 40.3-percent followed by the DA at 21.62-percent and the MK Party at 14.71-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 with 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.

# Indians flocked to the polls under scorching heat in the Hindu holy city of Varanasi today as a marathon national election reached its final day, six weeks after voting first began. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is widely expected to win a third term when results are announced Tuesday, in large part due to his cultivated image as an aggressive champion of India’s majority faith. The 73-year-old’s constituency of Varanasi is the spiritual capital of Hinduism, where devotees from around India come to cremate deceased loved ones by the Ganges river.

# And, to end with, 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………….