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North West polling stations are calm, but officials will stay on high alert

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A voter's finger is inked as she casts her ballot at a polling station during South Africa's parliamentary and provincial elections. Picture: Philimon Bulawayo/Reuters
A voter's finger is inked as she casts her ballot at a polling station during South Africa's parliamentary and provincial elections. Picture: Philimon Bulawayo/Reuters

Calm appears to have returned to the North West, which had been declared a hot spot by the police amid threats of an elections boycott.

Although the Independent Electoral Commission in the province reported that all voting stations had opened by noon, it was not clear if many voters would turn up.

North West and KwaZulu-Natal were identified as hot spots for these elections.

A school that was supposed to be a voting station was torched on Friday in Kraaipan outside Mahikeng.

The violence spread to the Ganyesa area in the Kagisano-Molopo local municipality where two cars, including one belonging to an IEC official, were torched during a protest and special voting in Madinonyane village was disrupted on Monday. Residents there had been complaining about service delivery issues, including an incomplete road.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone said a police vehicle was stoned and damaged. He said 21 people had been arrested for public violence.

The only incident Mokgwabone said they registered on Election Day was the arrest of six people in Modimong village in Taung. They were found in possession of IEC banners that were removed from the fence at two schools that were being used as polling stations.

Mokgwabone said as part of the national police deployment in the province, which included army support, there was “static deployment” at voting stations as well as other officers on patrol.

“We also have members or reaction teams on standby for as and when needed and will be deployed wherever any problems arise. Otherwise, it has been calm except for IEC-related challenges including delays here and there but so far, elections have been going on smoothly,” he said.

Meanwhile, the head of provincial elections Dr Tumelontle Thiba said things were “all smooth” in the North West. She said there was delayed openings at only two stations in Kagisano-Molopo but were all operational by noon.

It will all be seen once stations have closed and vote counting starts whether the number of voters in each station was anything close to the number of registered voters

Meanwhile, Mahikeng was calm. Most voting stations were packed with voters, especially once the light rain faded by noon. Following widespread violent protests about a year ago in Mahikeng amid calls for the removal of former North West premier Supra Mahumapelo, the provincial capital city was calm and voters were in high spirits.

Political parties – the ANC and the EFF in particular – had their colours all over in the streets. Mini street bashes were held by party members across the city while the elections mood was high at the local University of North West campus where students, mostly ANC members, held a night vigil.


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