Johannesburg - The ANC has not only maintained the lead nationally but also in provinces such as Limpopo, Free State and Mpumalanga.
Vote counting continued on Friday morning with just over 75% of completed vote counting across the country as of 9.30 am.
The tallying also continued provincially in areas such as the Free State where 68% of votes have been counted and declared. The ANC leads in the province with 63,91% of votes, the DA follows with 16,67% and the EFF with 10,87%.
In the Limpopo, 62,59% of votes have tallied with the ANC receiving 76,68%, the EFF is second with 13% and the DA with 5,58%
In Mpumalanga, 88,83% of votes have been counted and the ANC sits at 71,49%, the EFF looks set to become the official opposition 11,64% votes. The DA sits at 9,41%.
The Northern Cape is among the few provinces where most results have been counted with 97,74%. The ANC sits at 57,99%, DA at 24,65% and the EFF is at 9,57%.
The North West has completed 95,9% votes. The ANC has a slice of 64,23%, the EFF follows with 17,06% and the DA has 10,4%.
The so-called “dark house” of these elections, the VF-Plus has come in fourth in most of the smaller provinces. The party has been able to double its national voter share compared to the 2014 elections. It is widely believed the DA lost most of its voters to the VF-Plus.
The tallying of votes is expected to continue throughout Friday with official results expected to be announced on Saturday.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to do a walkabout at the national results centre on Friday morning.
The IEC is expected to brief the media later on Friday about the latest with regards to vote counting, but officials will likely face questions on the possible court challenge that smaller opposition parties have promised to lodge.
The group marched in song at the results centre on Thursday and claimed the IEC had not held free and fair elections because of some of the issues that have been reported about whcih include alleged voter fraud.