Cape Town - With 137 558 registered special voters in the Western Cape, the Electoral Commission of SA (IEC) said voting happened without any challenges on Monday, while police will maintain its presence at voting stations today.
On Monday and today have been set down for special votes to take place.
IEC provincial electoral officer, Michael Hendrickse, said voting was a success yesterday. “The day went very well. Our teams also went out on home visits to assist voters.
“We had a few hiccups but we will learn from those and improve.
“The special votes will not be counted yet, they will be sealed and counted tomorrow together with others,” said Hendrickse.
Police said no incidents were reported.
“SAPS members in the Western Cape are deployed throughout the province to ensure the safety of the public on day one of the 2024 general elections, and as of yet, no significant incidents have been recorded,” said police spokesperson André Traut.
Chairperson of the DA’s Federal Council, Helen Zille, said the ANC’s days as the country’s dominant party were over and that the DA would continue to hold onto power in the Western Cape.
Zille was speaking at Pinelands High School, where she cast her vote yesterday.
“This vote is enormously important because it is likely to be the first time that the ANC falls under 50%, and it’s entirely predictable that it will never get above 50% ever again.
“So it’s a watershed election. “It’s the end of an era of overall majorities for the ANC.
“And the DA has been making steady progress, which is absolutely excellent because we are the strong bulwark against power abuse in South Africa,” said Zille.
“The small parties are no threat to the DA; people must vote for whom they must vote for.
“But if they want the rest of the Western Cape to go the way of Beaufort West and Knysna, then they’ll have to start splitting their vote among all the tiny parties and get their towns and their province destroyed within two years,” said Zille.
Elections 2024: Democratic Alliance (@Our_DA) federal chairperson @HelenZille cast her special vote this morning at Pinelands High School.
— Cape Argus (@TheCapeArgus) May 27, 2024
Video: Ayanda Ndamane / Independent Newspapers pic.twitter.com/wRE90Wvfd9
Robert Thysse, 79, was the first person to cast his vote at Pinelands High School.
Although his health is frail, Thysse said he didn’t want to miss the opportunity to vote.
“We have a democracy in this country, and I think the right thing for everybody is to vote.
“We hope that these elections are going to be free and fair and that the democracy of this country will stand out so that the world can see that we’re still the wonderful place that we are,” he said.
Voting at Sosebenza Primary School in Khayelitsha was ANC Dullah Omar regional chairperson Ndithini Tyhido, who said the ANC would not just increase its numbers in the province, but also take over from the DA.
“We still believe that the ANC is the only dependable alternative we have as people in South Africa.
“My vote here is another signal that we can take out the DA.
“Our situation here in the Western Cape requires all of us, especially coloured and African people, to take aside or put aside whatever we think is urgent,” he said.
Tyhido acknowledged that the ANC had financial problems with funding its Western Cape campaign.
“Our campaign is very poor. We don’t have money. It’s not about fund-raising. It’s because the brand, the ANC, has been damaged over the years. We are trying to revive something that is damaged. So people are sceptical about giving us their money,” Tyhido said.
Lumka Mquqo, Build One South Africa’s (Bosa) Western Cape premier candidate who cast her special vote at CBC St John’s Parklands School, said she is excited for the elections.
“I think for the very first time in 30 years, these are the seventh democratic elections, and they feel very transformative.
“There’s a special thing around the number seven. It’s really exciting, and there’s a special thing around 2024 that we can feel there’s change in the air.”
A total of 1 668 076 South Africans have been approved for special votes, following the May 3 deadline.
Of these, 624 593 voters will be visited by trained election officers at their homes or places of confinement.
