A TOTAL of 65.93% registered voters in the Nelson Mandela Metro cast their votes last week during the 2019 provincial elections.
The NMBM, with the most newly-registered voters in the province, only had a voter turnout of 400 290 with 4 029 spoilt ballots.
According to the IEC communications department, 400 290 of the 607 134 voters that were registered cast their vote, however, only 396 261 votes were valid.
“All voting stations, amounting to 255, were operational in the metro. Out of the 255 voting stations in the Nelson Mandela Metro, Tankatara was the smallest with only 57 registered voters and they achieved a 73.68% voter turnout.
“Ocean Science Campus was the largest voting station with 5 991 registered voters and they achieved 64.66% voter turnout. Other than the challenges faced due to the change in weather conditions in the afternoon of the election day, all went smoothly,” the IEC said.
In addition, it has been recorded that for the special votes applications, the metro had the second highest number of home visitations in the province.
According to statistics received from the IEC, the total of voter turnouts for the metro decreased since elections in 2009.
In 2009, the total of voter turnouts was 80.60%, 74.50% in 2014 and 65.93% of votes were recorded for this year’s elections.
The ANC took the lead during the 2019 provincial elections in the metro with 46.15% of valid votes. In second place, the DA won a total of 39.42% of votes, while 7.74% of votes were captured for the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
According to the IEC, voter turnout for the national ballot was 66.58% with 4 921 spoilt ballots, and a total of 399 332 national ballots cast.
The NMBM Executive Mayor, Mongameli Bobani, thanked the residents of the Bay for coming out in their numbers to exercise their democratic right to vote during the elections.
Bobani commented, “I visited a number of voting stations, and was struck by the orderly and mature fashion in which our voters conducted themselves, patiently waiting their turn, sometimes in long queues and in the rain.
“Thanks to your cooperation and patience, voting at most voting stations proceeded smoothly. Thank you again for being good citizens and for braving the cold and the rain to have a say in the future of your province and country,” Bobani said.
