Zuma ‘never attempted’ to attend poll results announcement: Duduzile

MK Party (MKP) member Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla has denied her father Jacob Zuma tried to make a grand entrance at the Electoral Commission of South Africa's (IEC) results announcement on Sunday as other party members claimed.

In a viral video, MKP members were seen shouting at security officials at the IEC's national results operations centre in Midrand while president Cyril Ramaphosa delivered a speech accepting the final results. The doors at the centre were closed while Ramaphosa spoke for security reasons. 

MKP member Thami Mthethwa claimed Zuma was outside the centre but could not get in.

Mthethwa is a staunch supporter of Zuma and a former human resources official in Tshwane municipality. 

“[Zuma] is outside, why did they close the door? We cannot wait for one man to speak there,” Mthethwa told reporters.

Zuma-Sambudla, however, dismissed Mthethwa’s claims.

“Zuma was holding meetings all day and never attempted to attend any gathering of vote riggers,” she said.

Zuma at the weekend demanded a rerun of the national and provincial elections, claiming there was vote rigging despite the MKP breaking a record in attaining more than two-million votes contesting elections for the first time.

No new South African party has attained more than two-million votes post 1994.

“Nobody must force us to accept the results because the results are not correct. If you say so, the institutions must satisfy us that they have looked into the issues raised.

“We are going to need the time. Nobody must declare tomorrow [Sunday]. If that happens, people will be provoking us,” Zuma said on Saturday.

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