GEORGE NEWS - A voter who cast her ballot at the Van Kervel voting station, Alet Grobler, has raised concerns after officials were initially unable to find her name on the voters’ roll when she arrived at 07:00 this morning.
Grobler said her identity document was subsequently scanned and she was allowed to cast her vote. However, her thumb was not marked with indelible ink as part of the voting process.
“There was already a queue. Another woman and an elderly lady were also not on the roll, and they followed the same procedure. Their thumbs were also not marked. The officials seemed a bit in disarray and I did not see any ink on the table. On my way out, I complained to the political parties’ representatives outside. This raises serious concerns,” she said.
“I have been voting at this voting station for years, and there has never been a problem. When I checked the IEC website afterwards, I found my details on the voters’ roll.”
The George office of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) confirmed that it was aware of the complaint and that the matter had been addressed.
George Herald is awaiting further feedback from the IEC’s communications section on why these voters’ names could not be found on the roll and what procedure officials followed to verify their identities and allow them to cast their ballots. We also wanted to know why the voters’ thumbs were not marked and what steps the IEC has taken to establish whether voting procedures were correctly followed and to prevent any possible irregularities. Their comment will be published when received.
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