6 out of 7 independent candidates yet to breach 1,000 vote mark

JOHANNESBURG - With close to half of the voting districts counted, there is not a single independent candidate that looks set to qualify for a seat in Parliament.

This year, for the first time ever, independent candidates were allowed to participate in the general elections due to an amendment of the Electoral Act.

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In total, there were seven independent candidates who entered this year’s elections.

Out of the seven independent candidates, six are yet to breach the 1,000 mark of votes received.

Western Cape candidate Zackie Achmat is by far the best performing candidate, with over 3,000 votes received.

However, with the threshold for one parliamentary seat set to be around the 45,000 votes mark, Achmat faces a difficult task to make it to the National Assembly.

Former African National Congress (ANC) activist Anele Mda has so far failed to make inroads with the voters of Gauteng, hovering just above 700 votes.

Meanwhile, Limpopo candidate Faith Phathela is still stuck on double digits for votes received.