Today marked the commencement of the special voting and the IEC is happy with the turnout and has urged South Africans to continue to go out in their numbers to vote on 29 May 2024. Tomorrow will be the last day for special voters to make their mark.
"I'VE VOTED SINCE 1994"
Sipho Mphunyane (56) who cast his vote at the Pimville Zone 2 Methodist Church said he voted today because from the 28 he will be working as a party agent on Wednesday. He explained that since the inception of democracy in 1994 he has voted at the same station. "I have been voting at this same voting station as this is my kasi. I still believe that it's wise for me to participate in the election to be a change driver as far as life standards are concerned in South Africa." He added that he is disappointed in the youth because the ones he engaged with have shown no interest in participating. "We want to see a difference in the lives of our children, but it seems our youth is not willing to take charge. It's sad because they even refused to register saying that the government has done nothing for them. I hope people cast their votes so that we can see change in South Africa because we cannot allow things to remain the same, yet we have the power to make a difference. We need to address the issue of loadshedding, potholes and unemployment," he said.
SMOOTH SAILING
Mokgadi Lebopa, who is an IEC presiding officer at the same voting station, said they had a smooth start on their first day of special voting at Methodist Church Station. "We visited special voters from Zone2 and Zone 1. Unfortunately, seven out of eleven people cast their votes because three people gave us wrong addresses. We tried calling the person who registered them but he said he couldn't trace them. There was also a lady who was not registered with us so we couldn't cast her vote. The people we visited were elderly and only one was disabled," she said.
According to IEC's deputy electoral officer Masego Shiburi, the commission was happy with the turn out. "An estimated 201 794 voting station visits for special votes were processed in 22 626 service points. A total of 624 593 voters will be visited by 62 000 officials over the two days, from the Electoral Commission, accompanied by political party agents and observers, where they are available," Shiburi said. He urged South Africans to continue to go out in their numbers to vote on 29 May 2024. "The commission reminds those who qualified for special votes that they will only be visited at the given address once. If the voter is not present at the given address, they will be able to cast their vote at the voting station where they are registered," he said.
