Special voting day marked by headaches in parts of SA

The Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) says the door is now shut on voters who wish to cast their ballots at a different voting station other than where they are registered.

The commission said it has done everything in its power to inform the public about the change in law that has necessitated that voters must update their details if they wish to vote outside of their original voting station.

Yesterday, there was confusion among some voters during the first day of special voting, with some citizens pleading ignorance to the requirements to vote only where they are registered. Some voters took to social media to voice their frustrations over being turned away from voting stations after applying for special votes.

Unlike in the previous elections where people were allowed to cast their votes in the national ballot if they voted outside their voting stations, the new law now prohibits anyone from voting where they are not registered.

IEC spokesperson Kate Bapela said the commission did enough voter education and gave people enough time to apply for Section 24(a) which allows voters to vote at another voting station other than where they are registered. 

"You can't just wake up and decide to go and vote at voting station B when you are registered at voting station A. We sense that there are some people who have been ignorant of this law but on our side we did all we could to make people aware of this Section 24(a)," said Bapela.

In Midrand, some voters were left confused when they discovered that their voting station, at the corner of Garden and Tamboti streets in Carlswald, had been moved to a school in the area without prior notice.

Bapela said they will investigate the matter with the presiding officer. 

"It is unfortunate that this incident happened and we will make a follow-up and get more details why such crucial information was not shared with the people," said Bapela. 

Yesterday, IEC deputy chief electoral officer Masego Sheburi said the commission was satisfied with how things went on the first day of special voting across the country. He said there were areas where voting stations were not able to operate due to factors beyond their control.

Majority of the voting stations that could not operate were in the OR Tambo region in Eastern Cape owing to the taxi strike that has shut down the Mthatha area.

At a 4pm briefing yesterday, Sheburi said 107 out of 435 voting stations in the Eastern Cape were not operating. He said the commission was working with law enforcement agencies and other stakeholders to have them open today.

Another IEC deputy CEO, Mawethu Mosery, said they would communicate in due time when stations would be open. 

“The matter related to the denying of rights of voters in Mthatha and in voting stations where we have not been able to operate, the NatJoints is dealing with the matter.

"We will at the future briefing be able to indicate what this status is but on our part, we will do everything humanly possible to extend the right to those people without placing a risk to our own staff. So we will continue to work with the national joints to see whether circumstances permit those stations to open,” said Mosery. 

According to the IEC, by 2pm on Monday, approximately 201,794 visits from special voters had been processed at 22,626 service points and that 624,593 voters will be visited by 62,000 officials over the two days. IEC officials will be companied by political party agents and observers during home visits. 

Sheburi said if people weren't at their designated addresses when officials came for home visits during special voting, the officials won't come back for them. 

“The commission reminds those who qualified for special votes that they will only be visited at the given address once. If the voter is not present at the given address, they will be able to cast their vote at the voting station where they are registered." 

Sheburi said special votes are stored in a secure area and not left at ballot stations. 

“Additional checks include the use of the double envelope system which allows us to still preserve the secrecy of the voters’ ballot. All special votes collected are stored securely overnight on 27 and 28 May, [and] will be transported to voting stations on 29 May, to be opened, reconciled and added to the ordinary ballots cast on 29 May 2024 before counting begin,” he said.