Voters in last week’s national election were undeterred by long queues at several polling stations in the Tabletalk distribution area.
Hundreds of people could still be seen queuing at CBC St John’s in Parklands and at the Blouberg Community Hall well past 9pm, and voters at those two polling stations complained about a lack of information from Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) staff.
Voting at the Parklands polling station stopped at 1.52am on Thursday, and, according to the IEC’s provincial head, Michael Hendrickse, it had more than 7 500 voters.
This election has seen a sharp drop in support for the ANC, which for the first time has lost its majority, forcing it to seek coalition partners to form a government. With all the votes counted, the ANC has 40.18% of votes nationally, followed by the DA with 21.81% and MK with 14.58%.
In the Western Cape, the DA won with 53.41% of the vote, the ANC got 19.79% and the PA came in third with 7.84%.
Richard Tarp, who voted at CBC, said he had watched pensioners stand in long lines because there were no separate queues for the elderly.
“We just all had to stand in one line. I saw old people struggling to stand in those queues, but I admired their determination to still be there. At some points while standing there, the line wasn’t even moving at all. No communication from anyone when we asked, and, of course, people were getting cranky,” he said.
However, Graham Koen, who voted in Summer Greens, said he had been impressed by the efficiency of IEC staff at his polling station.
“I voted at the community hall. They had two lines there, separated voters by surnames, and any pensioners that would arrive would be quickly identified by the staff working there and ushered inside to vote ahead of us able-bodied individuals. Yes, the process of the three ballots was a main factor in things taking a bit longer, but, overall, it wasn’t as bad of an experience as I thought,” he said.
First-time voter, Anele Konji, 20, cast his ballot at the Blouberg Community Hall, and said he would remember the experience for the rest of his life.
“What a crazy experience for me. The queue was so long it took a lot for me to stay there. But my mother told me that this was an important part of being a South African citizen. She told me that we have all these things we complain about in this country, but that this is one of the best ways to get some change. And perhaps not any change in the ruling party, but they will see what the people want. It puts pressure on our leaders to do better,” he said.
