News24 | Disruptions at polling stations either thwarted or delayed voting

• News24 has tracked reports of disruptions at polling stations from around the country.
• In the Eastern Cape, voting stations could not open due to service delivery protests.
• Stations opening late and issues with voting management devices also delayed voting.

As millions of South Africans went to the polls on Wednesday to make their mark, several disruptions were reported at voting stations, which either delayed or thwarted voting.

From protests, power outages, and voting stations not opening on time to voter management devices not working correctly, News24 has tracked reports of issues impacting voting stations nationwide.

Starting in the Eastern Cape, the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) reported five voting stations were closed due to residents protesting over service delivery issues. 

IEC Eastern Cape electoral officer Kayakazi Magudumana said residents prevented their staff from administering the voting process.

A further 32 voting stations did not open on time due to protests and infrastructural issues.

In the Lower Zingcuka village, Keiskammahoek, residents blocked the way to the voting stations due to an unresolved land claim issue.

Meanwhile, a power outage caused by a transformer explosion in the Great Kei Local Municipality's Ward 2 also delayed voting.

Western Cape

In the Western Cape, voting stations were plagued by problems with voter management devices, leading to long queues.

The IEC's Western Cape electoral officer, Michael Hendrickse, said staff had been briefed on how to reboot the system and revert to the hard copy voters' roll in cases where the reboot failed.

He added staff had also been prepared to deal with any delays caused by the glitches and "voting will continue until the last person in the queue has been assisted".

Hendrickse said not all voting stations in the province had opened on time on Wednesday morning.

There was a report of protest action in Ocean View.

READ | Glitching voter management devices contribute to delays across the country

It was a peaceful march of about 80 women and children in support of Palestine. The protest was dispersed. This did not appear to impact on voting stations.

News24 earlier reported there was a stand-off at the Good Hope Centre's voting station in Strandfontein, Cape Town, between residents and EFF members.

Many residents demanded the party members remove their EFF-branded clothing before entering the voting station.

The EFF's Nazier Paulsen wanted the police to arrest the residents who swore and pointed fingers near some of the members.

Scores of police officers quickly rallied around the EFF as they tried to break up the rowdy crowd.

Western Cape police spokesperson Colonel Andre Traut said the police knew of the altercation but did not open any criminal cases as the matter was resolved.

In Stellenbosch, some criticised Java Cafe over claims staff members were working double shifts on election day.

Some customers told News24 staff reportedly were not given off and could not vote.

The cafe's manager, Steven Jonathan, dismissed the claims.

Jonathan told News24 staff members were given options to work shifts.

"Some of the staff are foreign nationals and are unable to vote but whose paperwork are in order. Other staff members, who are residents, said they were uninterested, saying they don't feel like someone is capable of running the country," he said.

Jonathan added he was aware of the complaints.

"A family who came into the restaurant raised concerns, but they are just causing trouble," he said.

North West

In the North West, three people between the ages of 28 and 33 were arrested late on Tuesday for allegedly obstructing IEC officials from carrying out their duties.

"The incident occurred at Bosugakobo Primary School in Lehurutshe. The suspects allegedly blocked the voting station's gate and demanded that the presiding officer be removed," police spokesperson Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone said.

A case of theft was also opened after an IEC tent was stolen overnight in Boitekong, Rustenburg.

Earlier on Wednesday, North West police had to disperse around 50 protesters at a polling station in Shaleng village, Taung.

According to Mokgwabone, the group had gathered at the voting station.

"Although they were not protesting, their presence could threaten other voters to stay away from voting. It was subtle intimidation."

The police are also investigating a case of assault following a fight between EFF and ANC members at a voting station in Mogopela B in the policing precinct of Pudimoe.

Gauteng

In Gauteng, there have been multiple complaints of voters travelling from one voting station to another because people in the same household are registered at different places.

There were also reports of ballot papers arriving late at certain voting stations.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili told News24 Gauteng had been relatively quiet and they would receive their next report of incidents at around midnight.

She said since the election date was announced, 27 cases have been opened, and 16 arrests have been made on charges ranging from intimidation to defacing/unlawfully removing a billboard/placard/poster published by a registered party/candidate, malicious damage to property, and assault.

On Wednesday at around 10:00, a man was also taken in for questioning after he was allegedly found in possession of a firearm at a voting station in Centurion.

"The motorist informed the officer of a man carrying a firearm and walking in the direction of the voting station," Muridili said.

"The officer and members approached the man and requested to search him. They found a replica firearm in his bag, and he was taken to the nearest police station for questioning."

READ | Students come out in full force, determined to make their mark despite long queues at Wits

An eyewitness, Ruhan Visser, told News24 he was waiting to vote when he heard a man shouting.

The man was allegedly shouting at a police officer that they could not search him without a warrant.

He said the man, who was less than 10m from the voting tent, was eventually searched, and a firearm was pulled out of a drawstring bag the man had on him.

"He claimed it was a toy gun and said he had just bought it. The female police officer had asked him what he was doing with it," Visser said.

KwaZulu-Natal

News24 reported in KwaZulu-Natal, attempts were made to interfere with the IEC's work overnight, ahead of Wednesday's polls.

The attempts included people claiming to represent political parties and following area managers into storage sites where IEC materials were kept.

According to KwaZulu-Natal IEC electoral officer Ntombifuthi Masinga, the people demanded to camp within the precinct of storage facilities. The police diffused the situation.

READ | Change is in KZN air, with young and old voters calling for something different

The IEC also recorded 96% of its voting stations in KwaZulu-Natal opened on time.

Some polling stations opened late because of protests and the unavailability of the police to escort staff carrying sensitive materials.

In two instances in Newcastle, voting stations were blockaded by political parties, which resulted in them opening an hour later.

Free State

In the Free State, News24 reported the Bloemfontein South High School voting station only handed voters two of the three ballot papers.

The incident sparked widespread frustration among the electorate, highlighting concerns over the integrity of the voting process.

IEC provincial manager Itumeleng Liba said he was only informed of the issue during a meeting with political parties on Wednesday afternoon.

"It is through the obvious ignorance of the person who is the presiding officer, but we sent our supervisor back to understand what the problem is, and we are correcting it," Liba added.

Limpopo

Limpopo police said there were no significant disruptions in the province on voting day.

However, the province did report in the lead-up to elections, members of ANC and EFF clashed during their political campaigns, resulting in a 25-year-old man and a nine-year-old sustaining bullet wounds.

The nine-year-old girl who sustained a bullet wound to the head is still in hospital after undergoing surgery.