Political parties laud IEC for ‘smooth running’ of special voting

This is despite the closure of 107 voting stations in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, due to a taxi protest.

Voting stations nationwide opened at 9 am on Tuesday morning to facilitate voting for South Africans who will be unable to reach their polling stations on May 29.

The DA's national spokesperson, Werner Horn, says their reports on the ground show that the IEC remains on track.

"Reports overnight was that the situation has calmed down, the unrest, and blockades have ceased. We were hoping that this remains the situation today and that people who must arrive at voting stations do so in numbers, and of course, those who need to get home visits must still be attended to". 

Freedom Front Plus CEO Pieter de Necker echoed Horn's sentiments, saying the commission has improved massively compared to the previous elections.

"Some of the problems we experienced would include obviously ballot papers not being put in envelopes for special votes, which was addressed by the IEC yesterday, and so far, all of the concerns that we raised with the IEC were addressed.”