The North West is one of the highly contested provinces in the country with 29 political parties contesting Wednesday’s elections. Tensions are high in some parts of the province, with residents in the Kagisano Molopo and Greater Taung municipalities threatening to boycott elections if some of their service delivery demands are not met.
But in other parts of the province, residents are calm and ready to vote.
Angry protesters continue to blockade roads and restrict special voting in Madinonyane village. The community is demanding road infrastructure. They say elections will only go ahead if government commits that their calls for services will be heard.
“There will be no elections in this area. We realised that to get what we want, we should stop elections because our own Premier lied to us.”
Six people were arrested on Monday for torching an Electoral Commission (IEC) official’s car.
In Orkney in the Matlosana local municipality, residents say they will cast their votes, although the area has been hard hit by retrenchments in the mines.
“It’s important to vote, but it could be the last democratic vote we have. The way things are going now, I see a socialist state here; not a democratic state anymore.”
In Boitekong, near Rustenburg, the youth have resorted to gangsterism due to the high rate of unemployment. However, they say that their poor living conditions will not deter them from making their mark. They are hoping that their participation in the election will bring them positive change; particularly jobs.
“I will vote with hope of getting a job, so that I can provide for my family.”
Even though some parts of Rustenburg have been declared hotspots by the IEC, areas including Boitekong, Marikana, and Sondela have been relatively calm, with no incidents of violence reported.
The provincial IEC says it is more than ready for Wednesday’s elections. IEC Provincial Head in the North West, Dr Tumelontle Thiba, says that they have been preparing for the elections for the past 18-20 months.
“We have been preparing for this for the past 18 to 20 months so we’re ready as we can be. We did a dry run, a test of sorts yesterday and today and we know that tomorrow, we’re definitely going to be up to standards. We hope that tomorrow we will have a smooth process where there will be no disruptions because this will affect the free-ness and fairness of our elections.”
The North West has recorded 1.5 million people who have registered to vote.
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