News 15:00

BULLETIN 31 May 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Patriotic Alliance says it performed much better than expected in the election
# The Slovak leader is moved to home care after a shooting incident
# And rugby: Cape Town Stadium is ready to host the Stormers against the Lions in a URC game 

# The Patriotic Alliance believes it performed much better than expected in this year’s election. They are particularly pleased with the growth rate obtained in the Western Cape. The PA’s Charles Cilliers also praised the youth for coming out in numbers to cast their votes. He is impressed with the overall response to their manifesto, as it is a sign that South Africans are ready for change:

Meanwhile, Western Cape premier Alan Winde says he is confident the province was not destined for a coalition government, given the early results that have been captured. The DA is leading at around 54-percent. Winde says he was surprised by trends favouring the DA, particularly in rural areas like Beaufort West. However, he acknowledged it was still early as the halfway mark count of the votes had not been captured.

Preliminary results from the Electoral Commission a short time ago showed the ANC was leading with 41.84-percent after 66.04-percent of the voting districts were processed. The DA followed with 22.64-percent while the MK Party was on 12-percent. The EFF and the IFP are among the top five nationally, with 9.51- and 3.02-percent respectively.  The Electoral Commission meanwhile has announced the Northern Cape is the first province to declare its results across all 730 voting districts.  The ANC got 49.27-percent of the votes, with the DA 21.25-percent and the EFF 12.87-percent.

# Slovak prime minister Robert Fico has been moved from a hospital, two weeks after being seriously wounded in a shooting. Fico was airlifted from Bratislava, and will continue his long road to recovery at home. The 59-year-old was left fighting for his life after being shot four times at close range on 15 May as he greeted supporters after a government meeting. His 71-year-old alleged assailant is currently receiving psychiatric treatment and if convicted, faces the rest of his life in jail.

# Rugby: The City of Cape Town says the Cape Town Stadium is ready to host a double-header tomorrow. The early kick-off will see the SA Rugby Under-21 Cup clash between Western Province and Cheetahs. This will be followed by the Stormers’ final United Rugby Championship group game against the Lions. Mayoral committee member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, says about 40-thousand people are expected to attend the local derby with potential playoff-deciding implications:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-71-cents and the euro at 20-rand-31-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-81-cents and Bitcoin trades at 68-thousand-347-dollars-24-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-344-dollars-15-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 81-dollars-93-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….