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Rural voters are denied their mark as protesters shut voting stations

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A voting station in Ngangelizwe, Mthatha, where refuse lies uncollected for weeks in the King Sabata Dalindyebo municipal. Picture: Lubabalo Ngcukana/City Press
A voting station in Ngangelizwe, Mthatha, where refuse lies uncollected for weeks in the King Sabata Dalindyebo municipal. Picture: Lubabalo Ngcukana/City Press

Voters were turned away from at least one voting station in the rural Eastern Cape due to protests.

At least one voting station – out of a total of 4791 voting stations across the province – in Ntlangano in Ntabankulu could not open on Wednesday.

Fikile Xasa, MEC of cooperative governance and traditional affairs in the Eastern Cape, decried the action by the community of Ntlangano in Ward 1 in Ntabankulu that led to the voting process not taking place in the area.

Due to the service delivery protest in Ntabankulu, 591 people eligible to cast their votes there were denied that opportunity.

Read: Funding an elections campaign is not child’s play, says Mashatile

The community is demanding the removal of the ward councillor, the finishing of an incomplete road, provision of electricity and the construction of a bridge, according to Xasa.

On Wednesday the MEC visited the protesters to try and engage with them with a view of allowing IEC staff who had been blocked to access the voting station to conduct the electoral process so that those eligible to vote could do so, but it was not to be.

In most voting stations in the rural areas of the East Cape there were no lines of people waiting to cast their votes on Wednesday morning. But outside the Mthatha Town Hall it was a different situation as a number of people queued to vote. Picture: Lubabalo Ngcukana/ City Press

“We have engaged the Ntlangano community and responded to all their concerns with realistic time frames but they decided against allowing the IEC to do its constitutional mandate. It is clear that they do not want to vote regardless of the commitments we made as government. It is once again an unfortunate situation for those people of the area who are eager to vote,” said Xasa.

In most voting stations there were no incidents except for a few reported in Cwebhe village in Xhora [also known as Elliotdale] where protesters intimidated people from voting, resulting in the police being called.

According to Julie Stanworth, IEC spokesperson in the Eastern Cape, a deputy presiding officer in the Mbashe municipal area passed away last night due to illness.

“The electoral commission would like to extend its condolences to the officials’ family,” she said.

Within the Buffalo City Metro Municipality two incidents were reported where people operating the political party tables located outside the boundary of the voting station were asking people for their names and then telling them they need not proceed as their names did not appear on the voters’ roll.

“We are urging any voters who may have experienced this to please return to the voting station and proceed to vote. As matters are reported they are investigated by the electoral commission team at the provincial nerve centre in order to ensure the electoral process can proceed without minor queries causing unnecessary delays,” said Stanworth.



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