Late ballots delay special voting at 217 Cape Metro stations

Special voting for the local government elections got off to a faltering start in Cape Town on Monday 2 November, when ballot papers failed to reach 217 voting stations in time for the 8am opening.

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) in the Western Cape blamed an unforeseen delay in delivery by the printing company contracted to produce the special vote ballots.

Provincial electoral officer Michael Hendrickse described the situation as fluid, with stations opening as their ballots arrived, and said stations in the province’s outer regions were operating smoothly.

The delays affected 33 wards and 217 voting districts, including Strand, Khayelitsha, Philippi, Wynberg, Constantia, the City Bowl, Athlone, Gugulethu, Delft, Atlantis and Kraaifontein.

Kraaifontein was the worst hit, with six wards and 36 voting districts still waiting for ballots at 10am. Some Kraaifontein voters were advised to return on Tuesday, while voters at the Table View Sports Complex could only cast ballots from 9.30am.

Cape Town mayor and Democratic Alliance leader Geordin Hill-Lewis said at about midday that many stations across the city remained closed and that nearly half of the first day had gone. He said the city was trying to establish why only the metro was affected.

Hendrickse said 2 and 3 November had been set aside for special voting and that the IEC would ensure applicants could vote over the two days. The IEC approved 291,866 special voters in the Western Cape, from a national total of 2,655,067.

IEC chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo apologised at a Monday evening briefing to any voters affected. He said distribution of the printed ballots was still under way when the commission had said on Sunday that all was in order, and that the process ran into the early hours of Monday.

The ballots had to be reprinted after last month’s court ruling on candidates whose names were not submitted by the deadline.

Mamabolo told the briefing that the problems were not politically motivated but the result of a pressured production and distribution process.

He said all logistical difficulties had been resolved during the day and that at least 780,000 special votes were cast nationally. Nearly 99% of stations nationwide opened on time, though some in Cape Town opened after 10am.

Sources: SAnews, IOL, Daily Voice, Briefly, News24, Daily Maverick, Inside Politics.