Despite minor glitches such as voting stations opening late due to late delivery of ballot papers, voting got under way across the country.
By mid-morning on Wednesday, 93% of voting stations had opened while the remaining 7% opened soon afterwards.
This is according to deputy chief electoral officer, Masego Sheburi, who briefed the media at the main Result Operations Centre in Midrand on Wednesday.
“A number of voting stations had delayed opening because of late delivery of materials, delayed escorts by security services or protests by certain community members.”
According to Sheburi, at most stations, queues had formed even before the stations opened.
“This is testament to the enthusiasm of South Africans to record their political choices. The commission is pleased to report that all our trained staff members reported for duty and started welcoming the first of the 26 million eligible voters at 7am at the 23 292 voting stations across the country,” he said.
By 12 noon, election operations across the country reported good progress with minimal incidents reported, he said.
“The Electoral Commission assures voters that adequate supplies of all materials, including more than 90 million ballot papers, are available, and every voter will be assisted to vote.
“The Commission further urges voters in the queues to be patient, as traditionally, voting queues peak early as voters often seek to vote first thing during the day.
“Where there were difficulties with our voter management device, instructions were issued for voting to proceed on the manual voters roll,” Sheburi said.
As special voting ended on Tuesday, the IEC also gave an opportunity to convicted prisoners to access their right to vote and voting also kicked off on Wednesday morning at correctional facilities across the country.
Sheburi advised those who had voted not to go to the extra effort to remove the indelible ink mark on their thumbs.
“The indelible ink is one of several security checks and safeguards built into the election process.
“The commission wishes to remind all voters that any attempt to undermine the integrity of the election process, including attempting to remove the ink mark, constitutes electoral fraud and is punishable by up to 10 years in jail,” he said.
The Star