Glitches at some voting stations on Wednesday resulted in some voters going home or heading to their workplaces or drinking spots.
When The Star visited various voting stations in the morning, the process seemed to be running smoothly. However, as the day progressed, voting became slower and slower in some areas, including the Fire Station in ward 52, Ekurhuleni.
Nicholas Hlophe, EFF’s convenor in the Fire Station voting district, said there had been technical glitches in the system, with it being online and off-line at times.
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“Those are challenges we are facing right now. People, particularly old citizens, are becoming impatient. As the EFF, we request that in the future the IEC must have adequate resources, failing which we will end up having unnecessary fights among voters,” said Hlophe.
Bhekisizwe Mlambo, a hostel dweller, threatened to leave the voting station without casting his vote after complaining about standing a long time in the queue.
“Please IEC officials, do your work. We are burning in the sun. If the queue is not moving, we will end up going home without voting,” said Mlambo.
Mthembeni Ndlovu, who was accompanied by his 4-year-old son, said he had decided to vote in order to remove the current government.
Ndlovu, originally from Nquthu in KwaZulu-Natal, lives in Ekurhuleni. He came to the province for work opportunities and a better living standard.
The EFF called on the IEC to attend to this issue urgently and to have the system back online as soon as possible in order to avoid compromising this critical election.
“The EFF notes, with urgent concern, the failure of IEC voters roll machines in several voting stations across the country. This has led to the resolution by the organisation to use the physical voters roll, which is gravely worrying as it takes time as well as compromises the accuracy of the voting system,” said EFF elections spokesperson Sixolise Gcilishe.
He said the party had received reports of the slow processing of votes, which had led people to give up and go home or to their respective workplaces.
“The EFF hopes there is a genuine glitch in the system and this is not a ploy by the IEC for an unplanned second day of voting and having ballots sleep over in the homes of presiding officers.
“We call on all fighters and supporters of the EFF to exercise patience in this regard, and to remember that the opportunity to install competent leadership will be worth the wait,” he said.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) confirmed in a media briefing on Wednesday that a number of voting stations had delayed opening because of the late delivery of materials, delayed escorts by security services or protests by certain community members.
In most stations, queues had formed even before the stations opened.
The Star