Political party representatives wrap up the day

Video

ELECTION NEWS AND VIDEO - Political party representatives last night addressed the media at the conclusion of voting day 2019.

Several issues were raised, the most salient of which being the unavailability of ballot papers at a number of voting stations in the Cape Town Metropole, the non-functioning zip-zip machines, the inclement weather that may have affected the voter turn-out, the need for forms to be completed for voters to have been allowed to use voting stations other than where they were registered – a problem that affected the waiting times at voting stations - and the indelible ink that was used on voters thumbs that in a number of cases turned out not to be indelible.

In some instances the unavailability of electricity in voting stations was an added concern. A number of voting stations have also opened late.
Several of the political parties indicated that the shortage of ballot papers could have cost them votes.

The electoral commission stressed that there were several checks and balances in place to prevent voters from voting more than once. Parties, however, challenged this statement, saying they had proof of instances where voters indeed voted more than once.

Political parties were nevertheless virtually unanimous in thanking the IEC for a job well done. The party representatives said that, despite the glitches, the voting processes ran smoothly.

Parties thanked their supporters for going to the trouble to vote despite the various challenges. Alliance for Transformation for All (ATA) representative said South Africa should be proud of the manner in which the voting took place: “We should be happy with the country, not all of Africa can conduct elections in a peaceful manner such as this.”

Watch a video below.