Durban - One voting station had not opened in KwaZulu-Natal on Monday morning as the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) scrambled to contain the fallout of sporadic acts of arson and road blockades in the province.
KwaZulu-Natal Acting provincial electoral officer Ntombifuthi Masinga said despite the challenges in the province, especially in areas like Camperdown, Umzinto and Jozini, the majority of the voting stations had opened on time.
Masinga was speaking at the Results Operations Centre in Mayville, Durban.
“Two voting stations in Umzinto had not opened by Sunday and on Monday one of them remained closed because the community decided to dig trenches on the access road to the station and it was the only voting station that did not open in the province. We had to move the voting station from the community hall to another venue nearby but still within the voting district.
“A few others opened late in Camperdown between ward 2, 3 and 5 because of a traditional leadership dispute. We had to get new staff members because locals who were the electoral officers were not comfortable and they were receiving threats,” Masinga said.
She said 80%of the voting stations had opened by 8am and 90% by 9pm.
“There were road blockages in Ward 15 Jozini and the SAPS and the municipality had to clear the roads. There were also road blockages in the uThukela region but those were cleared quickly by SAPS. In KwaMaphumulo a gate was locked at a school.
“We are also receiving reports that at some voting stations people were stopped because their registration could not be verified but we have advised electoral officers to check these manually and not turn people away.”
The Commission reported yesterday a presiding officer in the eThekwini Metro was arrested after allegedly stuffing marked ballots into a ballot box. “The matter is now in the hands of the South African Police. This incident, which did not affect voting, is a testament to the in-built safeguards in the voting process that also include an active role for party and independent candidate agents.”
Masinga said the ballot box in question was with the IEC and the presiding officer was still in police custody.
“The ballot box will have to be opened in front of the suspect, police and political parties. Now it is just the logistics of getting the ballot box in a venue where it can be observed by all parties. We are not sure if the ballots were marked or which party it was marked in favour of but the presiding officer is still in custody.”
Masinga said in Camperdown, the Ntobeko creche was burnt overnight but by 9am was operating in a different location in the same voting ward.