Philemon Makweng, 62, an early voter, folds his ballot papers at the Yeoville Recreation Centre in Johannesburg on May 27, 2024. Early voting got under way in South Africa on May 27, 2029, kick-starting what could be a historic election week, with the ruling African National Congress' majority on the line for the first time. More than 600,000 of the elderly and infirm, along with essential workers, police and prisoners, deemed unable to come to the polls on May 29, 2024 were allowed to vote first. (Photo by Michele Spatari / AFP)
Tuesday marks the last day of casting special votes, ahead of the big day on Wednesday when the rest of South Africans take to the polls.
A total of 1.668,076 South Africans have been approved for special votes, following the May 3 deadline. Of these, 624,593 voters will be visited by trained election officers at their homes or places of confinement.
Below is the provincial breakdown of the special votes applications:
By 2 pm on Monday, about 200,000 voters had exercised their constitutional right at voting stations, said the IEC on Monday.
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“While we are happy with the turnout, we urge those voters who are yet to vote to do so,” said the IEC’s Deputy Chief Electoral Officer, Masego Shiburi.
In Mthatha, some voting stations could not be opened due to the violent protests in the area.
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“We are working with the NATJOINTS to ensure that those denied the exercise of their constitutional right on Monday can vote on Tuesday. The NATJOINTS will give an indication of when we are able to help those people. We want to help the citizens but also ensure that we do not put our officials at risk,” said Shiburi.
Voters are reminded to have their identity documents as a requirement for participation.
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There are 170 organisations accepted as observers during these elections. Eighteen of them are international organisations, including the SADC and AU missions, who are already in the country observing the elections.
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