UPDATE | Ballot-delivery blunder leaves 217 Cape metro voting stations unable to open on time - News24

A ballot-delivery blunder left 217 voting stations in the Cape Town metro unable to open on time for special voting on Monday.

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) said several voting stations, particularly in the Western Cape, did not open on time due to last-minute ballot printing.

This was in part due to the 15 October Constitutional Court ruling, which admitted candidates that had been left out when parties failed to press “submit as final” in the IEC’s online nomination system in August.

IEC said, as of 08:00 on Monday, 217 voting stations in the Cape Town metro had been unable to begin operations while awaiting the delivery of special vote ballots.

IEC deputy chief electoral officer Masego Sheburi told journalists during a midday briefing at the National Results Operations Centre at the Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand that the Constitutional Court ruling meant that 28 million of the ballots already printed and delivered were no longer fit for the election because they did not include all contesting parties.

“In that context, the commission authorised the reprinting of ballots. We had to reprint a total of 33 million ballots; the City of Cape Town’s ballots were those that were in the final run of the printing process,” Sheburi said.

He added the printing process ended on Sunday, but the IEC was now “struggling with the packaging of those ballots so that they ensure that they contain all the security features that must be on the ballot”.

Sheburi added that these included numbering and stitching.

Earlier on Monday, Western Cape provincial electoral officer Michael Hendrickse said the delays were caused by an unforeseen hold-up in the delivery of ballots.

“Despite the best efforts of the IEC and the printing company contracted to carry out the production of the ballots, there has been an unforeseen delay in the delivery of special vote ballots in some areas.”

He added that the situation remained fluid, with affected voting stations opening as ballots were received.

Hendrickse stressed that the delays were confined to the Cape metro, while voting stations in the province’s outer regions were operating smoothly.

“I want to apologise for the inconvenience to our voters. Reports confirm that voting stations in the outer regions of the province are operating smoothly,” he said.

The IEC assured voters that security measures were in place to ensure the transportation and delivery of special vote ballots.

Community worker Beryl Williams said people who had applied for special votes at voting stations in Kraaifontein were turned away after being told that ballot papers had not been delivered.

Kraaifontein Community Policing Forum chairperson Gavin Riddles added that he had received several complaints from residents about the disruption at voting stations.

“If this is how elections are going to start, what are the contingency measures to make sure that this does not happen again?”

Riddles said he was particularly concerned that some residents who had been told to return on Tuesday were already indicating that they would not make another attempt to vote.

Hendrickse said 2 and 3 November had been set aside for special voting and the commission remained committed to ensuring that everyone who had successfully applied for a special vote could exercise their democratic right.

“It is our intention to honour our mandate and make sure every voter exercises their democratic right to cast their vote,” he added.

The commission said it would fulfil its obligation to facilitate special voting over the two days.

Some of the affected voting stations include Strand, Khayelitsha, Philippi, Constantia, Delft, Athlone, and the City Bowl.

André le Roux said he arrived at the Firgrove voting station on Monday morning to cast his special vote, only to find that no ballot papers were available.

He added that the voting station, situated on a construction site near the R102/Macassar Road, was also in poor condition.

According to Le Roux, a DA official told him that ballot papers had not been delivered.

IEC officials at the station reportedly confirmed the problem but could not say when voting could proceed.

Le Roux said no timeline had been provided for resolving the matter, including whether the affected stations would be ready for election day.

A total of 2.6 million people have registered for special votes, with 292 000 registered in the Western Cape.

Sheburi said the next update on the first day of special votes would be available at 18:00 on Monday.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with additional comment.

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