The Independent Electoral Commission says the results of next week's general elections will not be out before next weekend.

According to the Electoral Act the outcome cannot be made public within 48 hours of the elections but must be published within seven days.

Once IEC officials finish counting the votes, a result slip will be filled in in duplicate.

Chief Electoral Officer Pansy Tlakula says one will be pasted onto the wall of the polling station, the second will be put into a tamper proof envelope and escorted to municipal centres to be recorded.

"The results will be captured into the system twice to make sure there is consistency between the first and the second number and it will then be scanned," says Tlakula.

Those numbers will begin ticking up on the leader board at the elections centre in Pretoria but officially the results cannot be made public within 48 hours of the poll.

The country can probably expect an announcement on the outcome of the national and provincial polls on Saturday or Sunday next weekend.