No hiccups during overseas voting

THE first round of voting in the 2019 elections has been concluded, as registered South African voters living abroad cast their ballots on Saturday.

It is unclear at this stage exactly how many of the 29 334 voters who registered in their respective countries of residence actually visited the poll booths on Freedom Day.

The Independent Electoral Commission confirmed that the process went smoothly, that it was transparent, and that votes were tamper-proof.

Voting took place at South African high commissions in numerous countries around the world, including the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States and Dubai.

ALSO READ: All you need to know about election day

Once the voting station had closed, ballots were sealed and placed into tamper-proof bags which were then placed into diplomatic bags and sent to South Africa.

‘The ballots are not counted at the missions, they will be counted together with the ballots cast in the country on 8 May, and thereafter they will be included in the total of the votes cast for the National

Assembly in the country,’ said IEC Deputy Chief Electoral Officer, Masego Sheburi.

Once voting in South Africa is concluded next week and the counting of the ballots gets under way, those ballots cast overseas will be counted alongside the local votes under the scrutiny of observers and party agents.

Overseas voters’ ballots will affect only the outcome of the national elections as they wre not eligible to vote provincially.

The top 10 missions with the most registered voters were London (9 084), Dubai (1 542), Netherlands (1 355), Australia (1 195), Abu Dhabi (1 061), New Zealand (927), Ireland (817), Democratic Republic of Congo (797), United States (605) and Qatar (566).

HAVE YOUR SAY

Like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter.

For news straight to your phone invite us:

WhatsApp – 072 069 4169

Instagram – zululand_observer