WHILE voting in the South Coast mostly proceeded without major incidents, an Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC) presiding officer was arrested on Sunday, October 31, after being found allegedly stuffing a ballot box with marked ballots.

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The incident happened in ward 93 at Umbumbulu’s Kusakusa Primary School voting station during the day of special voting. In a media statement, IEC chairperson, Glen Mashinini said the incident did not affect the voting process.

“It is a testament to the inbuilt safeguards check and balances in the voting processes that also include an activate role for political parties and independent candidates as well as the agents and observers in our systems,” said Mashinini.

In a similar incident that happened in 2016 during the elections in Ulundi, an IEC officer was found guilty of stuffing the ballot box and was sentenced to five years imprisonment. In ward 98 at a voting station in Ilfracombe, African Freedom Revolution candidate, Nkosentsha Mshazi, said he was not happy with how one candidate was verbally abusive towards other candidates.

“I made a formal complaint because he and his party members was behaving as if they run this voting station. We are all equal here, no one should behave as if they are more important,” said Mshazi.

Voter, Nosipho Makhonza, said she was happy with the voting process in Ilfracombe as she was able to cast her vote in less than an hour.  

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