The Independent Electoral Commission expects Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal to record the highest number of new voters on the voters’ roll. The IEC conducted a countrywide voter registration campaign for voters to verify their details and for new members of the public to be registered.
IEC Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo says although it is still early to have the exact numbers, they are convinced that the two provinces will have the highest figures.
Mamabolo says there were a few disruptions in areas such as Katlehong in Gauteng, Makhaza in the Western Cape, Bushbuckridge in Mpumalanga and Vuwani in Limpopo. He says generally the turn-out was commendable.
“It’s early for us to determine where the highest numbers will be coming from but given the population distribution through the country, we do expect high numbers in both Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. Sadly there were disruptions to the process related to a number of grievances that certain communities had against one or the other spheres of government,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Free State IEC says all their offices will remain open every day to assist those who could not register during the weekend voter registration drive. This is after IEC officials could not access their voter registration stations at Motlatla village outside Thaba Nchu due to residents’ protests after their shacks were demolished by the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality law enforcement.
IEC Provincial Electoral Officer Jabulani Tshabalala says they had to pull out their staff members for safety reasons.
“The situation was such that we could not put our staff into an unsafe situation, so as a result for their safety and the safety of our people who would have come to register, we had to close the station.”
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