Special voting is underway nationwide, although some voting stations in the Cape Town metro could not open on time Monday morning due to delays with the delivery of ballot papers, says the IEC.
Voters whose applications for special votes were approved can cast their ballots for the local elections on Monday (2 November) and Tuesday (3 November). The regular voting day is Wednesday (4 November).
Masego Sheburi, deputy chief electoral officer for electoral matters, said on Monday afternoon at a media conference at the IEC’s national results center in Midrand that 10 of the 116 voting stations in Cape Town were still closed by 10:30.
According to Sheburi, the delays stem from the Constitutional Court’s 15 October ruling, which ordered that the ANC’s candidates in six municipalities must be allowed to participate in the election, even though their names were not finalized before the IEC’s deadline.
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Sheburi says the IEC decided, in the interest of free and fair elections, to also allow a total of 32 political parties that submitted their candidate lists late to participate.
“This meant that 33 million ballot papers had to be reprinted,” says Sheburi.
The ballot papers for Cape Town were printed last, according to Sheburi. Although the printing was completed on Sunday afternoon, there were problems with the packaging to meet the requirements.
“We can confirm that all remaining ballot papers in Cape Town are in storage facilities and that they are increasingly being distributed to voting stations,” says Sheburi.
According to him, a further update will be given later regarding the process to ensure that all voting stations in Cape Town open.
Voting stations are open on Monday and Tuesday from 08:00 to 17:00 for special votes. IEC officials are also visiting residences and retirement homes, among other places, to allow approved voters who cannot visit a voting station due to illness or physical limitations to vote.
