Situation is now calm at the Sakhamuzi Community Hall voting station in KwaDambuza area outside Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal. This follows a clash between ANC and EFF members.
The clash started when EFF leader Julius Malema arrived to monitor voter’s registration.
As ANC members tried to prevent Malema from getting inside the voting station EFF members also pushed through resulting in the gates falling down.
#sabcnews #sabckzn #LGE2021 #SADecides2021 Police arrived a bit late at the KwaDambuza voting station where earlier EFF and ANC members clashed during the arrival of EFF leader Julius Malema. pic.twitter.com/tuXwfDLdMM
— Nonkululeko Hlophe (@Leko3) September 19, 2021
As the clashes ensued police were no where to be found.
After Malema left the voting station a van of heavily armed police eventually arrived.
The voting station is still opened and but ANC and EFF members have left.
Malema has vowed to lodge a complaint with the IEC about an incident that happened in KwaDambuza in Pietermaritzburg.
LGE 2021 | EFF vs ANC scuffle – EFF to file a complaint with IEC:
[WATCH NOW ?]: The ANC is resorting to violence and is demonstrating the highest form of political intolerance, there will be serious repercussions. #RegisterToVoteEFF pic.twitter.com/lxB24mD9tn
— Economic Freedom Fighters (@EFFSouthAfrica) September 19, 2021
ANC convener in the Moses Mabhida Region, Thulani Xulu, says the party will not condone any form of political intolerance from its members as parties prepare for the local government elections.
“If there is any debacle involving the ANC, we do not condone any of those but also, we do not want to find certain political organisations who want to grab the stand and use the name of the ANC on their benefit. We cannot accept that. If anyone does that in the name of the ANC it doesn’t represent the ANC.”
Meanwhile, the mood at some voter registration stations at Chatsworth south of Durban is jovial despite the low number of youth registering
Presiding Officers say most tech-savvy young South Africans are choosing to register online rather than physically check their status as a registration station.
SABC News Reporter, Tashlan Naidoo reports from Ward 71 which was a hotspot during the July Riots.
“I am at the Shallcross Community Hall Ward 71. It services Crossmore, Bottlebrush and a large part of Shallcross. It’s very lively at the moment, but not with new registartions or check-ins, there are a lot of political parties – the DA, the ANC, the EFF, out here playing music. They are having good fun in the sun, but it has been quite slow this weekend.”