MATJHABENG – Voting proceeded smoothly across Matjhabeng on Wednesday 4 November, with no major problems or crises reported at voting stations across the municipality. However, voter participation in several areas remained relatively low.

Hennenman records stronger participation than Meloding

Preliminary figures from ward 4 revealed contrasting voter participation patterns between Hennenman and Meloding, with the former recording stronger activity.

Maxie Badenhorst, DA candidate for ward 4, said 532 voters had cast their ballots at Hoërskool Hennenman by the time of the update. The school now falls within ward 4, alongside Meloding, following the recent ward redemarcation.

This compares with 625 voters who participated at the same station during the 2021 Local Government Elections, with several hours of voting still remaining.

The figures suggest relatively strong participation in Hennenman, particularly as the previous election’s total had not yet been reached.

Meloding turnout remains comparatively slow

In contrast, participation at the five voting stations in Meloding appeared considerably slower.

During the 2021 Local Government Elections, a combined 2 814 voters cast their ballots at the five Meloding stations, as well as the two farm stations at Per Lot and Hamsverwacht.

By the time of the latest update, only 1 519 voters had voted at the five Meloding stations.

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The comparison should be treated with caution because of the changed ward boundaries. The current figures also exclude the two farm stations, as well as special votes cast before election day.

Nevertheless, the difference in participation raises questions about the final turnout, particularly in areas traditionally associated with strong ANC support.

A lower turnout in these areas could influence the final electoral outcome, although it would be premature to speculate about which political party might benefit. This will only become clear once voting has closed and the results have been counted.

Ventersburg: 33% turnout at library station

Manie Pretorius of the VF Plus in Ventersburg said voting had proceeded smoothly, with no problems reported at the stations where the party was represented.

The party monitored 27 voting stations in Matjhabeng. By 16:00, an average of 47% of registered voters at these stations had cast their ballots. Participation began increasing at approximately 17:20.

At the Ventersburg Library voting station, 247 of the 747 registered voters had cast their ballots by 16:30, representing approximately 33% turnout.

Free State turnout stands at 33,24%

Across the Free State, 507 999 voters had cast their ballots by 17:00, representing 33,24% of the province’s registered electorate.

According to the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC), 1 604 voting stations were scheduled to open at 07:00 to accommodate more than 1,5 million registered voters.

The majority opened on time, although a few experienced delays until 07:30 because of network challenges. These were resolved, and voting subsequently proceeded smoothly across the province.

The IEC confirmed that all ballot papers had been delivered and that voter management devices were functioning optimally.

Measures introduced to improve efficiency included handheld barcode scanners connected to the devices and sequence numbers on the voters’ roll to simplify voter verification and reduce processing times.

With voting stations scheduled to close at 21:00, the IEC appealed to the approximately 66% of registered voters who had not yet participated to make their way to their respective voting stations.

Counting was due to begin immediately after voting closed.

The IEC thanked voters, election officials, political parties, candidates, observers, the media and other stakeholders for their co-operation in ensuring a smooth and peaceful election day across the province.

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