As special voting stations opened across the country this morning ahead of the 2024 National and Provincial Elections on Wednesday, President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for peace and stability to uphold free and fair elections.

Addressing the country last night, Ramaphosa commended the Electoral Commission of South Africa, known as the IEC, for its impressive work preparing for the elections.

“As a country, we have once again witnessed the capabilities of the IEC, in the successful voter registration weekends, in the registration of parties and candidates, in the preparation of ballot papers, in the organisation of overseas voting, and in the diligent application of our electoral laws.

“We convey our thanks and best wishes to the IEC commissioners, to the IEC staff and to the thousands of election workers as they deliver on this most important responsibility in the coming days,” the president said.

He said extensive preparations have been made to ensure all South Africans can exercise their right to vote peacefully.

“Law enforcement agencies and security services have been deployed throughout the country to ensure that there are no disturbances or disruptions to the election process.”

While election campaigning over the past few months, Ramaphosa said, has been ‘robust’ and heated at times, it remained peaceful and free of intimidation.

He expressed concern about incidents over the weekend that obstructed election activities.

“We should all be concerned at reports that came out today [Sunday] about the obstruction of election activities, including unlawful entry at IEC storage sites in KZN. We call upon all parties, candidates, supporters and every South African to refrain from any action that could interfere with the due electoral process.

“Regardless of the outcome, let this election further entrench our democracy and strengthen our commitment to uphold it,” he said.

Read the full article in The Witness.