The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) of South Africa has come out to say it is pleased with the conduct of the election so far, despite a few glitches recorded along the way.
A few incidents recorded throughout the country led to some polling booths being opened late or not at all. According to Times Live, here is a round-up of issues the commission faced and was forced to deal with, yesterday:
Limpopo: In the South African province bordering Botswana, “the IEC suspended one official after a video emerged on social media showing ballot boxes lying on the side of a road. Meanwhile, two men were arrested after they allegedly destroyed ballot papers at a village outside Giyani.”
KZN: In KwaZulu-Natal, more than 100 voting stations did not open on time due to sabotage and protests which prevented staff from gaining access to the venues.
North West: More than 20 people were arrested on Monday for torching an IEC officer’s car and disrupting special voting in Ganyesa.
Eastern Cape: Communities in Ginsberg, Idutywa and Cwebe barricaded voting station entrances with burning tyres and rocks.
Western Cape: The IEC moved several voting stations due to roads in Khayelitsha and Plettenberg Bay being blocked with rocks and burning tyres following overnight protest action on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the IEC in South Africa has come under fire from one of the parties for being dishonest over the severity of irregularities recorded during the election.
“The Inkatha Freedom Fighters (IFP) said that the legitimacy of Wednesday’s vote was questionable and planned to lodge several complaints with the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) at a multi-party liaison committee meeting on Thursday morning,” as reported by Eyewitness News.
The party’s Mkhuleko Hlengwa said: “The IEC at times just pretends that things are fine and it’s aloof to the prevailing issues on the ground which actually have a meaningful impact on the credibility and integrity of this election…So, we’re expecting the IEC to give responses. They don’t take us seriously, that will be a serious problem.”
So far, about 40% of the total results have been counted and The ANC and DA are the frontrunners as expected. Official results will be announed soon.
#SAElections2019 Close to 40% of the national vote has been counted. Some interesting takeaways: There are 6 parties with less than 1000 votes each.— Qaanitah Hunter (@QaanitahHunter) May 9, 2019
Picture Credit: Esa Alexander
