Party officials concerned at low voter turnout

ANC regional secretary, Chris Mhlophe, said the voting process in Newcastle is going well and he received no reports of violence or unrest from any of the voting stations.

The only complaints he received during the day, were shortcomings on the side of electoral officials.

There were a number of instances where people did not appear on the voters roll, even though they received SMSes confirming they were registered to vote at their respective voting stations. At some voting stations, the scanners were not working and other voting stations did not open on time,” he stated.

Mhlophe said most of the ‘glitches’ were quickly resolved, but his biggest concern about today’s local government elections is low voter turnout.

The numbers at the voting stations are disappointing. We are doing everything we can to encourage residents to exercise their democratic right to vote,” he concluded.

Mdu Mnisi, who is a candidate for the African Freedom Revolution (AFR) echoed Mhlophe’s sentiments, saying all the political parties were working well together and so far, the election process has been peaceful.

I am confident and optimistic at this stage, and I hope the counting process goes just as well,” said Mnisi.