#2016elections: R’fonteiners make their marks
'The residents of Randfontein have kept their promise to vote, now others must keep their promises to make our country better'
Randfontein was yet another town where eager voters stood in queues to make their marks during the 2016 local government election on Wednesday 3 August.
A steady stream of voters fed tents, halls and pop-up stations, while educated Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) members carefully gave voters procedural instructions.
Voters braved the icy wind to vote for the party they thought would make the biggest difference in the future. Small voting stations had a small but constant stream of voters coming in and leaving as soon as they were done, making the most of the rest of their public holiday. Meanwhile, larger permanent voting stations saw queues of between 70 and 100 people anticipating their chance to vote.
Voting was conducted peacefully and no incidents of rioting or sedition were reported. Randfontein and Westonaria police officers were stationed at every voting station to ensure a peaceful day. While first-time voters bragged about their inked thumbs, older voters left in a rush to make the most of the public holiday.
Over six million voters registered to vote in Gauteng alone, making it the province with the highest number of registered voters in South Africa. Randfontein and Westonaria had 74 voting stations where voting took place between 7am and 7pm. Residents motivated each other to make their mark during the elections.
“Without the votes of all residents it is impossible to make a dent in any dominating party,” said Terry Stein, a voter standing in the queue.
Another voter, Cobus Franklin, agreed and said, “If everybody keeps their promises, the country will get back onto its feet. The residents of Randfontein have kept their promise to vote, now others must keep their promises to make our country better.”
As soon as voting closed, officials started counting the votes. The count started with special votes being removed from the ballot boxes. Special voters voted on Monday and Tuesday (1 and 2 August) from 7am to 5pm.
With the votes being tallied since the polls closed, the IEC website has been giving hourly updates about the leading parties. With 33 per cent of the votes counted, the Democratic Alliance (DA) is the leading party in Gauteng, with 45,39 per cent of the overall votes. In Randfontein and Westonaria however, the African National Congress (ANC) was in the lead, with 54,38 percent of the votes. (These results are as at 7am on Thursday,4 Aug).
For live voting results, visit www.elections.org.za
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