Like the rest of South Africa, residents of Rand West City visited voting stations to register, update their details or check if they were on the Voters’ Roll for the upcoming local government elections.
The Herald visited Hoërskool Riebeeckrand, Westcol and the Bantsho Office Park as they were used as voting stations on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 September.
According to area manager for Ward 5, Hugh Phokgoe all voting stations opened at 08:00 and closed at 17:00.
“As soon as people walk in, they sanitize at the entrance and have their ID booklets or smart cards ready,” Phokgoe said.
Unfortunately, documents like a driver’s licence and passport were strictly not allowed.
He also explained how people were assisted – while some were registering to vote for the first time, some simply needed to update their details such as addresses, cellphone numbers and email addresses.
Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) official, Elizabeth Raesibe Lehujo said some people, especially the youth opted to register online, while the elderly people went to the voting stations to verify their details so that they could make their mark on November 1.
She said it was not clear yet if the young people would be taking part in the elections.
“During registrations, we don’t usually anticipate a lot of people. We know that they come in drips and drabs – it is only during elections that we get people queuing outside,” Lehujo said.
Kele Mkhlehlane, area manager of Ward 4 said she had done rounds to various stations to make sure that all systems were running smoothly so that people were happy.
“We’ve seen that people have adapted to technology and are no longer going out to voting stations to register; but this may also be because of Covid-19, with people trying to minimise contact with others to reduce the risks,” Mkhlehlane said.
