MBOMBELA – Over 200 000 people applied for special votes in the province and were expected to cast their votes at one of the 1 300 voting stations opened for special votes on Monday and Tuesday, while some were visited at their homes.
Those who failed to vote on these days, are still permitted to do so at one of the voting stations on Wednesday. The province has a total of 1 744 voting stations, of which, only 400 were inaccessible until yesterday’s official election.
Also read:Special voting has officially started
The IEC’s provincial communication officer, Mr Sibusiso Nkosi confirmed that many applicants for the special votes were from Bushbuckridge Local Municipality.
“It was an easy process to apply for, and was open to anyone who was unable to visit the stations on Wednesday. Some of the applicants voted at the stations, while others were visited at their homes to cast their votes,” said Nkosi.
IEC provincial manager, Mr Steve Ngwenya confirmed the readiness for free and fair elections in the province. The IEC had 13 000 trained staff to conduct the election procedures at the voting stations. All logistics had been completed, with voting materials being dispatched to municipalities.
“We thank the security cluster for the role they have played thus far. The contribution they made, gave me confidence in knowing that we will have free and fair elections in Mpumalanga,” he added.
Ngwenya urged representatives of the 34 political parties and the 41 independent candidates to abide by the code of conduct. He urged them to accept the outcome, and try again in future elections.
Also read: Huge increase in special vote applications this year
The IEC received over 740 000 applications countrywide for special votes this year, which is more than three times the number received in 2011 and nearly twice
as much as that received in 2014.
Of the 741 720 applications, 719 225 were approved. This includes 315 597
(44 per cent) applications for home visits and 403 628 (56 per cent) applications to cast a special vote at voting stations.
