Call to vote ahead of end of Election Day

The Electoral Commission in KwaZulu-Natal has encouraged registered voters who have yet to cast their votes, to do so ahead of the closing of voting stations at 9pm.

The call comes as voters in various parts of the country continue to cast their votes in the 2024 National and Provincial Elections.

The Electoral Commission (IEC) has assured citizens that no eligible voter will be turned away and that every voter in a queue by 9pm will be assisted.

Giving a progress report on voting in the province on Wednesday, the provincial electoral commission said 96% of the 4 974 voting stations in the province opened at 7am, while some stations opened late due to some incidents in some parts of the province.

Among the reasons behind the late opening included the non-availability of police to escort staff carrying sensitive materials, service delivery protests, the blocking of voting stations by some political parties, and voter management devices (VDMs) with Apps that were not updated, amongst others.

The commission has reassured the voters that any technical glitch encountered on the VMD should not delay the voting process in voting stations. 

“Voting is a manual process. If the hard copy of the voters and a list of preapproved Section 24A cases is at the voting station, voting can proceed unhindered,” the Commission said.

On the approved special votes, which took place on Monday and Tuesday in the province, the commission reported that of the approved special votes a total of 110 280 out of the 238 235 voting station visits were administered, including 101 161 out of 128 053 approved home visits were administered.

“We got reports of area managers being followed into our storage sites where we kept materials overnight, by people claiming to be representing political parties and demanding to camp within the precinct of our storage facilities. Such situations were also diffused by the SAPS [South African Police Service],” the commission said.

Voting stations will close at 9pm tonight while Home Affairs Offices are also open for the processing of Temporary Identity Certificates and issuing of Identity Documents ready for collection. – SAnews.gov.za