Cape Town - A voter surge in major metros in the Western Cape, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape saw voting continue until late last night, with results expected to take slightly longer due to the magnitude of voters.
With 3 310 805 registered voters in the province and 27 672 264 across the country, IEC CEO Sy Mamabolo said additional resources had been placed at voting stations to assist with counting.
“We are in for a higher voter turnout than we had in 2019, which is why the single most important intention of the commission at this point is to ensure that every voter that is in the queue is given an opportunity to record their political choice,” he said.
Voting was completed by 7pm at all correctional facilities across the country on Wednesday.
While a number of voting stations opened late across the country due to late delivery of voting materials, delayed escorts by security services and community protests, voting got off to a steady start on Wednesday.
Mamabolo said glitches reported were overcome, allowing electoral officials to service voters timeously.
This after some technical system issues were reported in parts of Cape Town and Gauteng. No major incidents were reported in the Western Cape, but in Table View tempers flared as angry voters tackled IEC officials, accusing them of failing to execute their duties.
Dramatic scenes unfolded at Table View High School and Blouberg after pensioners and frail care patients were allowed to skip the queue.
Sue Mellen, 56, said they registered to vote at the Vue de Cap Retirement Village and received SMSes from the IEC confirming their registration, but the officials failed to pitch.
Olivia Louw, manager of the retirement home, said the IEC officials did arrive but claimed they needed to collect something and never returned.
DA council candidate Sue van der Linde stepped in and arranged a private shuttle service to assist elderly people to get to voting stations yesterday.
Later in the morning, angry residents mouthed off at IEC officials as the pensioners were moved to the front of the line, saying they had already been waiting three hours.
“This is your fault. You should have taken their votes when you were supposed to,” a man was heard shouting.
Resident Adril Williams said: “There was even an 82-year-old granny who stood in the line and told us that the IEC won’t deter her from voting as she trekked through the Drakensberg mountain barefoot in her earlier years and would stand in the line until she got a chance to vote.”
Hours before the elections kicked off, Philippi was covered in black smoke as rioters blocked major roads with burning tyres and rocks, when the vehicle of an independent candidate came under fire from alleged hijackers on Tuesday night.
Although no one was hurt during the incident, police are investigating a case of attempted murder.
Police spokesperson Novela Potelwa said: “Public Order Police with other law enforcement officials were deployed to the area to quell the situation and open New Eisleben and Sheffield roads that were affected when rubble and burning tyres barricaded the route,” she said.
Lenore Oliver, a provincial IEC spokesperson said: “The IEC is aware of the incident but it did not affect any of the organisation’s voting stations.”
Secretary of the Nyanga Community Policing Forum, Dumisani Qwebe, said they were unaware that the victim was an independent candidate.
The Cape Argus reached out to the candidate yesterday without success.
Police have further urged anyone who knows about the incident to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111.