Phuti Mosomane
THE first day of special voting went relatively smoothly in the Free State province with minor glitches reported in the Mangaung Metro.
At Heaven voting station in Botshabelo, Mangaung, there were no IEC staff members onsite, and a number of voting stations including Mahlohonolo primary school in Botshabelo and Orion in Welkom opened late.
In Thabo Mofutsanyana region, an ANC co-ordinator at Boitumelo voting station Ntai Tshabalala said the party was satisfied with the IEC preparations but were disappointed that out of 24 registered special votes at the station, only a few opened.
Rise Mzansi Free State organiser Mokgadi Kganakga said there was an incident in Matjhabeng Ward 16 (sports centre) in the Lejweleputswa area where a voting station ran out of envelopes.
The double envelope system is used which allows the IEC to still preserve the secrecy of the voters’ ballot.
“I think overall, the IEC nationally and provincial are very nice people but the first day did not go without any hiccups. In Matjhabeng one voting station ran out of the envelopes – we are not sure what happened because a voting station will know in advance how many special voters are coming.
“They were not fully prepared and few other voting stations did not open on time, we hope all glitches will be resolved by Wednesday,” she said.
The province’s first citizen premier Mxolisi Dukwana cast his special vote at the Riebeeckstad library in Welkom. Political analysts have predicted Free State to be one of the provinces where the ANC will struggle to get an outright win. Dukwana appeared unfazed and said the party will easily reclaim victory on Wednesday.
In a statement, the Electoral Commission said it was happy to report good progress in the execution of special votes, which started on Monday 27 May and will end today for qualifying voters.
As at 2pm on Monday, an estimated 201 794 voting station visits of special votes were processed in 22 626 service points. A total of 624 593 voters will be visited by 62 000 officials over the two days, from the Electoral Commission, accompanied by political party agents and observers, where they are available.
The Democratic Alliance premier candidate in the Free State, Roy Jankielsohn said the party was satisfied with the first day of special voting.
Jankielsohn who is expected to cast his vote on Tuesday in Bethlehem, Dihlabeng municipality said this is “the most crucial election since the dawn of our democracy.”
“We are satisfied with the first day of voting (special) and nothing too serious took place today,” Jankielsohn told Inside Politics.
There are 26 826 approved special vote applications in the province, and on the first day of voting 13 041 cast their ballots.
Earlier, the Electoral Commission said it was happy with the turnout and urged South Africans to continue to go out in their numbers to vote on 29 May 2024.
The Commission has reminded those who qualify for special votes that they will only be visited at the given address once. If the voter is not present at the given address, they will be able to cast their vote at the voting station where they are registered.
The Commission said in the instance where a voter has made two transactions, the last will override the first. This is done to protect the integrity of the elections and prevent voters from voting twice.
“Of the 435 voting stations which experienced problems in the morning, only 107 remain closed due to external factors. The Commission continues to work with stakeholders to have them open on Tuesday”.
The special voting process is subject to all the security and integrity protocols of normal voting including scrutiny by party agents and observers where present. Special votes will be reconciled against the voters’ roll and the list of approved special votes.
All special votes collected are stored securely overnight on 27 and 28 May, will be transported to voting stations on 29 May, to be opened, reconciled and added to the ordinary ballots cast on 29 May 2024 before counting begins.
As 29 May draws closer, the Commission warns South Africans to watch out for misinformation and phishing scams on social media and other digital platforms and it thanked South Africans who have registered for special votes.
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