Johannesburg – The vast majority of the country’s 23 148 voting stations opened on time at 7 am on Monday and voting is flowing smoothly in the country’s 2021 Municipal Elections, according to the IEC.
“Voting … got off to a smooth and timely start at almost all voting stations early today. The Electoral Commission is particularly encouraged that many voting stations reported strong turnouts from early in the day with many voters already waiting to vote before the 7 am opening,” said the IEC in a statement.
Also, read: IEC says 2021 Municipal Elections off to a good start
IEC chairperson Glen Mashinini said although they are satisfied with the turnout, as, with any event of this magnitude involving 23 000 service points, there have been incidents that have been reported:
- In KwaZulu-Natal, 20 voting stations did not open on time because of community protests. In Camperdown and Mdlothi. The stations have now opened in co-operation with the security service.
- As reported earlier, a presiding officer in the eThekwini Metro was arrested after allegedly stuffing marked ballots into a ballot box. The matter is now in the hands of the South African Police. This incident, which did not affect voting, is a testament to the in-built safeguards in the voting process that also include an active role for party and independent candidate agents. (An update on this matter will follow soonest)
- In the Eastern Cape, 19 voting stations did not open because of community protests. In all incidents, communities dug trenches to deny Commission staff and voters access to the voting stations. The Commission, with the assistance of municipalities, was able to fill the trenches and anticipates that the voting stations will be open later today.
- In Limpopo, hailstorm delayed the opening of voting stations in Giyani.
- While there was no load shedding, disruptions in power supply disrupted voting in some parts of Limpopo and the Northern Cape.
- In Modimolle, also in Limpopo, an accredited observer was asked to leave a voting station for wearing a political party t-shirt. A process to withdraw the observer’s accreditation has started.
- In Moretele in the North West, a member of a political party was arrested after he interrupted the voting process. In Taung, also in the North West, the Commission has laid charges against a presiding officer after he opened a ballot box that had been sealed.
- The Electoral Commission regrets the arrest of a Newsroom Afrika journalist at a voting station in Soweto. After the intervention of the Commission, the journalist has been released and an investigation into the circumstances of his arrest will be instituted.
Also read: Newzroom Afrika journalist detained during election coverage
The Electoral Commission says they have also received reports of isolated cases where voters were stopped from entering voting stations by election staff because they were wearing political party clothing and regalia.
“We would like to clarify that wearing such clothing by voters is not prohibited. It is only prohibited for party agents. This information is made clear in a “Dos and Don’ts” poster provided to each voting station.
“Any voter who is prevented from entering a voting station due to their clothing should immediately report this to the Contact Centre on 0800 11 8000 – or to the Area Manager for that voting station, The IEC said.
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