KImberley - Residents in Kimberley braved icy weather and strong winds to make their cross as voting got off to a steady start in the Northern Cape, with only a handful of incidents being reported.
Wind speeds of up to 50km/h flattened two tent stations in the province’s capital, while minor hiccups slowed down queues in other centres. One voting station in Hartswater failed to open on time.
For some voters, however, the queues took longer than expected.
IEC spokesman Elkin Topkin said the strong winds were causing havoc at various stations in Kimberley, resulting in tents in Lerato Park and Witdam being relocated.
Two accidents involving IEC officials, who were transporting ballot papers to voting stations in Keimoes and Groblershoop, were also reported to the provincial IEC office.
“The officials were being escorted by SAPS vehicles so when the accidents occurred, they took the ballot papers and transported them safely to their destinations.”
No serious injuries were reported.
The canvas tent used for voting in Witdam blew over just as voting was due to get underway at 7am. IEC officials moved the station across the road to the Witdam store.
“We were back up and running within an hour,” an official on the scene said.
Many of the voters in Witdam were elderly, some walking with the aid of walking sticks and wrapped in colourful blankets to keep warm. Several started queuing from early in the morning. One said she wanted to get to the voting station “as early as possible in case it gets busy later on”.
At the informal settlement at Lerato Park, where the tent also had to be relocated due to strong winds, voters were forced to shield themselves from dusty swirls of wind, ripping through the area.
At Ivory Park, where residents had threatened last week not to vote after accusing the current councillors of ignoring their pleas for service delivery, there was evidence that the call to stay away has had no impact and people were waiting from early morning to vote.
Long queues also formed at the Roodepan Library, where voters were allowed inside the gates to the venue at the Roodepan Library, in groups of about 10 people at a time, “to avoid a stampede”, according to a voting officials.
One voter in Hadison Park said she arrived at her voting station at 7am, thinking she would vote quickly before reporting for work.
“There was a problem with the scanner so they were doing everything by hand. We timed it and it took 10 minutes to get just one voter through the queue.”
She said that by the time she arrived, there were about 40 to 50 people already waiting. “It took me exactly an hour to cast my vote.”
She added that standing in the queue was beyond cold.
“It was absolutely freezing - the wind was icy and although there was a small space inside the voting station which offered a bit of protection, we weren’t allowed to stand there. Instead, as you got closer to the front, you had to stand in the doorway.”
Voters, however, reported that the atmosphere was “great”.
“It was like getting together with old friends. Everyone was chatting and pleasant to each other. Even the IEC officials were friendly,” another voter said.
“Although they didn’t come out and tell us what the hold-up was while we were queuing outside, once we got inside they apologised for the delay and said it was because the scanner was not working,” she said.
“So the officials were doing everything by hand which took longer.”
Voters at the station all agreed that it was very important to vote.
“Voting is not only my right, it is also my responsibility.”
Resident of Ward 25, Hope Hulana, was among the very first to cast his vote at Dutoitspan Primary School on Wednesday morning.
Dozens of voters had already started queuing at the school by the time the polls were scheduled to open at 7am, and while the first people were allowed in a few minutes late, officials quickly got into the swing of processing the names and issuing the ballots.
“Making us wait like this is typical,” Hulana said moments before becoming the second person to cast his vote at the station.
“It is clear that they do not take our votes seriously.
“I also can’t understand why the public have not been thoroughly educated on the voting process as this is going to cause even further delays.”
Apart from isolated incidents, several IEC presiding officers commented on how smoothly the process was running in comparison with past elections.
Sakkie Jacobs said that he has been involved in several elections as a member of the IEC after stepping out of party politics. He said that voter education initiatives had clearly had the desired impact.
“Our polling station at, Kevin Nkoane Primary School, opened right on time and we don’t foresee any problems,” he said. “There are roughly 2 000 voters registered at the station and from past experience, I am expecting over 1 000 through the door before the polls close tonight.”
“Usually, there is a rather steady flow of traffic here. It is almost as if residents come at the same time every election so we never really experience long queues.
“Over time people have definitely become quite familiar with the process. They know what to do and this means that my job gets easier every time.”
“I wanted to cast my vote early so that I could take advantage of my day off,” said Kobus van Zyl at Du Toitspan Primary School. “It’s cold and miserable but I’m going to vote and climb back into bed.”
“We all need to do our bit,” said Cheryl Kleyn. “We all want a better South Africa and if we don’t vote for change we aren’t going to get it.”
Elections Bureau