The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has warned protesters that they face serious consequences if they do not allow people to register and confuse municipal grievances with its mandate.
On Saturday several polling stations around Gauteng could neither open on time nor open at all due to service delivery protests.
Mogale City was the hardest hit as eight polling stations could not be opened due to community protests. Some communities prevented IEC officials from entering their area and politicians from campaigning.
In the city of Johannesburg, voter registrations in Meadowlands, Jabulani and Midrand were delayed by hours. While in the capital, students’ protests at the Tshwane North College in Soshanguve prevented voters from registering. Registrations at the Tshwaraganang Day Centre in Centurion could also did not place due to unrest in that community.
Police say they will be out in full force, to ensure that those who want to vote in the General elections in May are able to register and verify their details on Sunday.
The IEC’s Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Nomsa Masuku says they have the responsibility to give South Africans a voice to enable them to choose representatives who have credibility and integrity.
“We are the link between them and their representatives. But I suppose if you are in the line of fire, you shouldn’t complain when you get hurt. You have a duty to talk to your representative when you’re unhappy with them. It is important that you express that unhappiness. But when you start destroying property, that is outside the law, that is a criminal act. The law provides that you can protest but you do so peacefully.”
The IEC says it is responsible for the management of elections, not the delivery of basic services. Its statement comes after the voter registration drive was disrupted at 140 of the commission’s 2 925 voting stations due to sporadic community protests.
The IEC’s CEO Sy Mamabolo has described the protests as unfortunate.
“It’s pretty unfortunate that these community protests are directed at us or rather our operations, not a service delivery department. Neither are we responsible for the provision of electricity, as an example, the provision of roads and so on.”
