Mpho Esitang from Unit 2 in Mahikeng is a first-time voter who is eager to see changes in her immediate community. A much elderly resident, Ntai Tladi from ward 12 in Lichtenburg, on the other hand, says he is not interested in casting his vote. He shares why.

Tladi says he doesn’t believe that residents should vote because “democracy has lost its meaning”. He says he doesn’t believe voting will change the current economic challenges affecting the Modibe Village, which is where he resides.

Voting is still moving slowly in the North West. An update on the state of elections is expected at 13:00 pm from the national office.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in the North West previously told OFM News that it estimates that of the 1,6 million registered voters in the province, between 22% and 50% will turn up to the polls on Monday. Head of the IEC in the province, Tumelontle Thiba, assures North West residents that the 1 743 voting stations are all set to meet the demand, should this prediction come to fruition. 

This as IEC tents in parts of the North West were broken down during the first day of special votes this past weekend due to minor unrest. Despite this incident and others reported in the Eastern Cape and Tshwane, in a statement, the IEC have deemed the special voting period to have been a resounding success. Thiba elaborates on some of the logistics of the voting centres in the North West.

“We have one mobile voting station in the Kagisanong Molopo Local Municipality, 134 temporary voting stations and the rest are permanent stations,” explains Thiba.

The North West IEC requests that voters must turn up early and if possible, use their own pen to cast their vote. Officials will be on site to sanitise the pens that are availed to the public.

On the issue of vaccination sites, Thiba says that the matter falls under the jurisdiction of the Department of Health. And it is their prerogative to place vaccination sites in close proximity to voting stations and not in voting stations.

Following the special voting period, the IEC says 83% of South Africans who applied and were approved for the special voting period had made their choice on a ballot. The Commission says all home visits were conducted, despite allegations on social media alleging otherwise by a few people. The IEC reminds those who missed the special voting period despite being greenlit for it, are still eligible to cast their choice on Monday with the rest of the country.  

OFM News/Olefile Vilakazi and Olebogeng Motse