IEC glitches greet early morning voters at some Pretoria polling stations
The IEC has said that it was aware of challenges at several voting polls and all issues were receiving attention.
The municipal elections got off to a rocky start in Pretoria on Monday, with several glitches reported from various voting stations.
There were reports of some voting stations not having enough ballot papers or scans not working. Residents were left frustrated by voting stations opening late or not having enough ballot papers.
Some stations ran out of ballots.
Faerie Glen residents stood two hours in the baking sun before they could cast their votes. Many in the queue complained about the lack of ballot papers and overall the planning from IEC.
In the north of Pretoria at Laerskool Magalieskruin voting station, residents were shocked to hear that ballot papers were finished around 09:30.
Many voters from Centurion who had been standing in long queues since as early as 06:00 this morning to vote at 07:00, were only able to start voting at 08:30.
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The voting station at Hoërskool Zwartkop was still closed at 07:10, and voters were informed there were no ballot papers available at the station, neither was the voting roll.
At Kiepersol community centre in Eldoraigne there was neither the stamp nor the voting roll, whereas no ink was available at Heuweloord community centre.
The centre also had no stamp. In Mamelodi East, Tshwane metro police and South African police were at a voting station where residents who apparently did not register to vote wanted to force their way into the station.
The IEC said on Twitter that they were aware of challenges in certain polling stations and all issues were receiving attention.
“Ensuring that South Africans exercise their democratic right, safely and with as little disruption as possible remains our top priority,” the tweet read.
In a statement the IEC spokesperson Kate Bapela said while there were issues of delays reported at some voting stations , the voting got off to a smooth start at most voting stations across the country.
Bapela said the commission was encouraged that in many voting stations reported strong turnouts , with many voters already waiting to vote before the 7am opening.
She said delays in voting were reported in less than one percent of voting stations due to a variety of circumstances including tents being blown over by high winds overnight and the late arrival of election staff and voting materials in a few voting stations.
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