Special voting sees slow start
ALEXANDRA – Low turnout of special voters kicks off the 2016 municipal elections.
Alex kicked off the much-anticipated 3 August municipal election slowly with a low turnout by those registered for the two days of special voting on 1 and 2 August.
The special voting is restricted to those who will be on duty on the main election day such as the police, nurses and officials conducting the voting and the elderly.
Except for election officials, very few special voters dropped in on the first day of the eight hours allocated for the exercise.
The officials also had to visit the sick and elderly who could not make it to the stations. The registers gleaned at some of the stations showed very few people registered for the special votes signalling a possible lack of awareness of this opportunity.
Thousands, however, are expected to flock to the 56 voting stations on 3 August in Region E which includes Alexandra, where the Independent Electoral Commission teams, party agents, observers and the police will be expected to ensure the process proceeds smoothly.
The stations will mostly be at schools, community centres, sports grounds, churches, libraries, clinics, daycare centres and some in tents on the streets.
