PRETORIA, May 10 (Xinhua) -- The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) on Saturday endorsed the 2014 election which it said were a victory for democracy.
The successful elections have proved that multi-party democracy is thriving in the country, EFF leader Julius Malema told reporters at the Independent Electoral Commission's (IEC's) Results Operations Centre (ROC) in Pretoria.
He said the EFF accepted the election results despite challenges that the elections were free and fair.
The Inkata Freedom Party (IFP) claimed earlier that their supporters had seen IEC ballot boxes inside a vehicle marked with ANC (the African National Congress). This prompted protests in Alexandra, north of Johannesburg.
The army has been called in to the township to quell the protests during which tyres were burned and foreign shops were looted.
Malema called on his supporters to accept the outcome of the elections.
The EFF, formed last year, emerged as the third biggest political party in the elections, winning 6.35 percent of the votes.
The party received more than a million votes on the national ballot and has become the official opposition in North West and Limpopo provinces.
The EFF advocates radical reforms in the country, including the nationalization of mines and restitution of land without compensation. The party is enjoying growing support from the blacks, particularly the youth.
By Saturday morning, 100 percent of the votes had been counted, the IEC said. Final results will be announced at 6 p.m. Saturday.
The ANC remained the dominant party, getting 62.16 percent of the votes, to be followed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) which garnered 22.22 percent.
South Africans voted on Wednesday to elect the new National Assembly and provincial legislatures. It was the most competitive election since the end of apartheid in 1994.
