One queue ‘for whites’, another ‘for blacks’ in Wellington was not racist, says IEC
Courtney Sampson says officials separated voters according to their registration status and not their race.
Western Cape provincial electoral officer Courtney Sampson during a media briefing at the Western Cape’s provincial results operation centre (PROC) on May 8 | Image: Twitter
Speaking after a press briefing at the Western Cape provincial results operation centre (PROC) provincial electoral officer Courtney Sampson said he was told by electoral officers at the scene that the incident in which voters were apparently separated into two different lines according to race was not racist at all.
During this morning’s national voting day excitement, many took to social media to share their voting day experiences, good and bad.
Among one of the more prominent incidents was various videos coming from a voting station in Wellington in the Western Cape where voters were allegedly separated into lines according to race.
Voters at the scene alleged that white voters were even being given preference over black voters so that they could vote first.
@IECSouthAfrica this is happening at Western Cape Province, Cape Winelands Region at Wellington Campus of CPUT. Voters are segregatedby colour of their skin, this is wrong and criminal. @SAHRCommission please intervene. #SAElections2019 #SADecideds2019 @SABCNewsOnline pic.twitter.com/EIpQBfEHfb
— Hlabe (@Songeze_P) May 8, 2019
https://twitter.com/NMutula/status/1126091289043382274
When asked about the incident, Sampson initially stated that the IEC was going to follow up on it as it had just come to his attention.
He later went on to say that he had been updated with information that the lines were separated according to those who had registered to vote in the area and those who were not registered and had to fill in the necessary paperwork prior to being allowed to vote at that station.
Apparently, that just happened to break people up into a line of white people and another made up apparently entirely of black people.
WATCH: Sampson updating his statement seconds ago, says electoral officers say the incident wasn't racist at all #SAElections2019 #eNCA pic.twitter.com/OOGKfUJzyj
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— Pheladi Sethusa (@pheladi_s) May 8, 2019
“Because of this practical arrangement, the students were asked to stand to one side because of the fact that they were now applying and filling in their forms while the other people didn’t have to do that. So instead of clogging up the whole system they were kept aside,” explained Sampson before adding that this explanation did indeed make sense to him.
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