Eastern Cape elections 2024: What is happening so far on the ground?

With the 2024 general election less than a day away, the Eastern Cape voter landscape has already been marred by taxi violence, an ActionSA activist’s home torched, as well as glitches during the first day of special voting.

Despite more than 1.6 million people registered to cast special votes, only a small percentage made their way to voting stations on Monday.

A total of 288 005 special votes are expected to be cast in the Eastern Cape.

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Eastern Cape taxi violence impacts voting

According to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), it was unable to open the majority of voting stations in the OR Tambo region due to a spate of taxi violence, which erupted in Mthatha on Monday morning.

Mthatha mayhem

Taxi operators allegedly hijacked several trucks on the N2 and R61 roads leading in and out of Mthatha yesterday.

This also triggered widespread looting by the public, with a truck carrying voters’ rolls and T-shirts of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) among the looted vehicles.

EFF Eastern Cape secretary Simthembile Madikizela said the truck was transporting 10 000 party T-shirts and voters’ rolls sent to ensure fair voting.

“The company will take the issue further and they have committed to reprint the T-shirts,” he told Daily Dispatch.

At the centre of the violence − which claimed the lives of three people − was a dispute over routes between Uncedo Service Taxi Association and the Border Alliance Taxi Association.

Tensions also flared up due to a crackdown by police during which 53 firearms were confiscated from taxi operators.  

IEC unable to collect voting materials

IEC presiding officers were initially unable to access satellite storage sites to collect voting materials on Monday morning due to the blockaded roads. 

Eastern Cape electoral officer Kayakazi Magudumana said by midday certain roads were cleared with the assistance of the South African Police Services (SAPS), and that the casting of the special votes could continue in some places. 

Non-operational voting stations

According to an IEC update provided on Monday afternoon, 108 of the 455 voting stations remained closed. 

The large majority of these stations were in Port St Johns, where a total of 81 out of the 135 voting stations were still non-operational. 

The other affected stations included nine in King Sabata Dalindyebo, seven in the Nyandeni municipality and one in the Ndlambe municipality.

“In Nyandeni it has been mostly community protests, and in one case one of our presiding officers was stabbed,” Magudumana said.

In response to the protests and taxi violence-related incidents, police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nomthetheleli Mene said police would “take strict action against anyone found to be engaging in activities that threaten the safety and security of the public and the integrity of the election process”.

Special voting in Nelson Mandela Bay

Malfunctioning voter management devices, voter rolls not in alphabetical order, long queues and stations opening late marred the first day of the 2024 election‘s special voting in Nelson Mandela Bay on Monday.

The IEC, however, gave assurance that these glitches have been sorted out to ensure a smooth voting experience on Day 2.

ActionSA branch leader’s home torched

Meanwhile, ActionSA has condemned the torching of the home of Asanele Nkonzo, its branch chairperson in Mdantsane, East London.

ActionSA’s Eastern Cape premier candidate Athol Trollip said fortunately the party branch chairperson was not at home at the time of the incident in Ward 11 on Sunday night.

Trollip told Algoa FM that Nkonzo has been a champion for change within the Buffalo City community and this has obviously caused unhappiness among the current political establishment.

“This terrible attack must be seen as political intolerance, unveiled intimidation and an unacceptable violation of the constitutional right to freedom of association.

“Like every South African, our members have the right to participate in any political party activities without fearing for their lives.”

Breach of Electoral Code of Conduct

Trollip said the attack was reported to the IEC Provincial Party Liaison Committee as “we believe this constitutes violence and intimidation, breaching the Electoral Code of Conduct”.

He said the attack on their party activist came amid the ongoing violent taxi strikes in Mthatha and Dutywa, which hinder law-abiding South Africans from casting their votes and threaten the freedom and fairness of the 2024 elections.

Whats left of one of our main ActionSA activists house in Mdantsane. This destruction is not coincidental it’s malicious & cowardly. Those who did this think it will deter us, it WONT! We will Fix SA through action and rid SA of this corrupt government ⁦@HermanMashaba⁩ pic.twitter.com/waLpAZsXOm

— Athol Trollip (@AtholT) May 27, 2024

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