Minor glitches at voting stations

As a result the voting station opened about 15 minutes later than the scheduled 07:00, and one of the first voters in town, Dirk Uys, received no inked thumb as an official failed to notice him.

But shortly afterwards the frenzy to accommodate voters had steadied and IEC Officials were handling the matter at their organised best.

Officials at another voter hotspot in Middelburg, Extension 24, reported that voting opened on time where no less than 100 people were waiting in a queue. By 08:00 the crowd had increased to approximately 300 waiting-in-line despite the steady stream of voters exiting the station.

Officials here were dealing with limited space for queues, no parking for vehicles and the entrance was often being obstructed.

In sharp contrast, no problems could be noticed at Aerorand, where at one point an estimated 500 people lined up all around the Corpus Christri Church.

With more than enough space for parking, braais all around and carts selling coffee, many people didn’t seem bothered to be waiting 40 minutes and still being only in the middle.

Dozens of Police Officers were deployed at the Nasaret Community Hall, where no problems or complaints were received.

The majority of voting stations however, including Eastdene, had an average of about 10 minutes waiting time. Others such as the Reservists Canteen located opposite the Fire Station was absolutely dead quiet. Officials there were waiting at the gate for people to enter.

But across every single voting station a common atmosphere of peace and calm had dominated, and although too early to tell, voter turn-out looks positive.