Zero incidents during voter registration in Vryheid, but plenty in other parts of SA

OVER the weekend, 73 000 election officials were reported in place in some 22 600 voting stations around the country to register new voters and to allow already registered voters to check and update their address details in preparation for the upcoming national and provincial elections next year.

Some local councillors admitted to feeling deeply disappointed at the turnout at Vryheid voting stations, with less than 4% of registered voters in some communities arriving to check their registration status and confirm their addresses.

Ward 9 councillor, Alta de Kock, suggested that the turnout over the registration weekend may speak to the general attitude of the public towards national government. “I think that some people may have just lost hope, especially when you consider the land grabs that are taking place at the moment.”

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Municipal Electoral Officer, PJ Ndlovu, explained that the turnout in most urban areas wasn’t good, but explained that this wasn’t an issue as most people residing in urban areas had supplied their residential addresses when they were registered as voters.

“In the urban areas, it is only those residents who had changed their addresses that came in to confirm their new addresses. We were mainly concerned about the rural areas, where there were no addresses recorded and the turnout was much better in the rural areas. However, residents can still register to vote at the IEC offices up until the day before elections and there will be another voter registration weekend before the elections take place,” said Mr Ndlovu.

Voters should take a copy of their bar-coded ID book, smart card ID or temporary ID certificate. They will be assisted to complete a registration form providing their home address at which they ordinarily reside which will allow the Electoral Commission to place them in the correct voting district. Proof of residence is not required.

Mr Ndlovu and Vryheid SAPS said there were no incidents or complaints reported at any of the voting stations in the area. Sadly, in a handful of isolated areas a small number of voting stations around the country were unable to open on time or were forced to close shortly after opening due to a range of incidents.

The most common of these was due to community protests which used the high profile of the voter registration activities to draw attention to their grievances and in some instances blockaded staff and voters from reaching the voting stations or conducting registrations.

Some of the affected areas included:

· Katlehong in Gauteng, where seven voting stations in ward 55 were impacted by on-going community protests over the installation of pre-paid electricity meters;

· Nthabankulu in the Eastern Cape, where community residents stopped the activities in voting stations until the mayor and councillor arrived to address their grievances;

· Parts of Wonderkop in the North West province, where residents were engaged in service delivery protests;

· In Tongaat in EThekwini in KwaZulu-Natal, where community protesters threatened landlords of venues used by the Electoral Commission forcing staff to set up gazebos to continue their work;

· In QwaQwa and Harrismith in the Free State, where protesting residents demolished tents erected as temporary voting stations, including burning one tent;

· Denoon in the Western Cape, where protesting residents forced the evacuation of election staff by police for their own safety;

· There was one tent that was vandalized overnight at a temporary voting stations in Leratong Park in Kimberley,

· One tent was burnt down in Harrismith and another stolen in Kroonstad in the Free State; and

· The Vhembe district in the Collins Chabane municipality around the Vuwani area there is an on-going municipal demarcation dispute that has affected voter registration operations.

Other incidents reported included two collisions involving election personnel on their way to open voting stations. In both incidents the staff members were hospitalized, one with minor injuries and one with more serious injuries. The Commission wishes them a speedy recovery.

The Electoral Commission would like to express its appreciation to political leaders and parties, the media and other stakeholders who have raised awareness of the registration weekend and the importance of a reliable, accurate and up-to-date voters’ roll for free and fair elections.