Empty voting stations in Glenwood and Musgrave
The Independent Electoral Commission's Thabani Ngwira said operations were running smoothly across the board.
VOTER registration got off to a slow start on Saturday, September 18 with empty voting stations in Glenwood and Musgrave.
The Berea Mail visited voting stations at Stella Sports Club, Glenwood Preparatory School and Berea Primary School to find ghost towns with no queues and just a handful of voters arriving in drips and drabs.
While one resident, who wanted to remain anonymous, reported that systems were offline in Glenwood, communications officer for the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC), Thabani Ngwira said operations were running smoothly across the board.
“All voting stations are open and there have been no issues that have been raised by district and local office. All systems are go,” he said.
In case you missed it: Here’s where you can register to vote in the upcoming election
Musgrave resident, John Mahamotsa, who registered to vote at Berea Primary School, said it is important to make his mark at the polls.
“If I don’t vote, I don’t have a say in my local government. It’s very important to vote for your ward councilor, so if I have a problem, I know who I can contact,” he said.
Also read: Start date for matric exams brought forward in light of upcoming local elections
Ahead of registration weekend, the Commission’s chairperson Glen Mashinini said the Cogta Minister will announce the date of the election on September 20.
According to the Commission, there are currently 77 970 candidates of which 911 are independent. The Commission says it has acquired 40 000 Voter Management Devices which will be used for the first time over the registration weekend.
* Notice: Coronavirus reporting at Caxton Local Media aims to combat fake news
Dear reader, As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19. Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za). Do you want to receive news alerts via Telegram? Send us a message (not an sms) with your name and surname to 060 532 5535. You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Berea Mail Telegram number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple.
