On the morning of Wednesday 7 May, voters from across Grahamstown made their way to the various voting stations to vote in the national elections.
On the morning of Wednesday 7 May, voters from across Grahamstown made their way to the various voting stations to vote in the national elections.
However, the novelty had long worn off by 3pm, the voting stations were quiet and party agents were resting their heads.
This is the fifth time South Africans have gone to the polls since 27 April1994, when many (including the late Nelson Mandela), voted for the first time.
At the Drama Department and the Great Hall voting stations on Rhodes University campus, queues of eager voters were already snaking along pavements and corners long before 8.30am, when Grocott's Mail visited the station.
The queues were thin at Mary Water’s Secondary School in the predominantly coloured area.
Several ANC and DA election agents set up their campaign tables just outside some of the voting stations, chatting to voters and making last-minutes appeals.
Grahamstonians who voted at Mary Waters arrived slowly on foot from nearby areas. They were predominantly coloured or black; and older.
“If I don't vote, then others will make the decision for me,” said Thenjiwe Tyotha, a 57-year old pensioner. “I have to vote so my party can win.”
Aldrico September, a construction worker, has been voting since 1994. "It's a need for me to vote, so I can live better in this country," he said, with eyes shining.
The slow tempo at Mary Waters contrasted with the steady stream of voters at the St Aidan's voting station, near St. Andrew’s College. Here, predominantly white and middle class voters arrived with their families.
Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) officials and police officers were overseeing the voting process. However, they were unwilling to comment on the event.
Born-free votes for the first time
Meanwhile, voting for the first time was 20 year-old Rhodes Jonathan Braans, who felt it was important for him to cast his first vote because he wanted to make use of his democratic right. Braans voted at Graeme College.
After putting his X on the ballot paper, Braans walked out of the voting venue with a smile on his face accompanied by his friend, Ross Daly, who is also 20 and a student at Rhodes.
The station opened at 7am and saw a noticeable number of students from Rhodes University. The two campus voting stations, at the Rhodes Drama Department and the Great Hall, were packed, mostly with students.
ANC party agents, Ntombekahaya Jibiliza and Xolelwa Piko, said they arrived at the voting station half an hour after it opened to check if the voting process was running smoothly and freely. “Since we got here, the situation has been satisfactory and we have not yet encountered any problems,” said Jibiliza.
Jibiliza and Piko both said that while voting process had been smooth, the number of voters was quite low.
Later in the day
Nomzamo Bikani, presiding IEC officer at the Graeme College voting station remarked at how many young people had come to vote in their school uniforms.
“They were voting for the first time. They were proud and they were so interested,” he said.
Second-time voter, Lulutho Mhlekwa, said he was not excited or emotional; he was casting his vote as a means to dilute the dominant power.
The St. Aidan’s voting station was equally sombre. While a reported 1600 people had been accounted for before 1pm, the afternoon saw only small families and off-duty workers.
Local resident, Wilna Pittaway, was excited about accompanying her son to his first vote. Presiding officer at the Rhodes Box Theatre, Diedre Fouche, said, “(Young voters) have been coming in their hordes; it’s awesome.”
By late afternoon, even this station was quiet. Over 1000 people had voted.
ANC party agents were optimistic about the outcome. “We have a very politicised society,” said chairperson of the Makana Sub-region¸ Mncedisi Boma.
“We’re not into campaigning on the day. People arrive knowing who they want to vote for.”
At Mary Waters, ‘born-frees’ were noticeably absent, with mostly older voters voting. The IEC estimated the number of voters at around 1186 by 5pm.
All voting stations reported no incidents and the armed police officers were never asked to intervene.
There were a few incidents of spoilt ballots due to inability to read and write, but these were quickly resolved. By day’s end, Grahamstonians expressed some degree of optimism for the future, with some exceptions.
At St. Aidan’s, Shaun, who did not want his last name published, said he never voted because he did not feel he could yet make an informed decision.
Sisters Caren and Sue Reynolds at Graeme College said they don’t think litter is going to be picked up any quicker, or potholes fixed any quicker, “but we still have hope.”
The voting process
Meanwhile, the elections have not been fully digitised and there was a lot of paper at the voting stations. “I was at the police station at 5.15am for our election meeting,” said Presiding Officer Nomonde Matsheke, to get an early start.
Wearing blue Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) marked shirts and blank name tags, the officials were seated in pairs at each stage of the voting process.
As a voter entered the voting room, an official scanned their ID. This device, similar to a card machine, then printed a unique sticker which the voter handed to the next IEC official.
After confirmation of registration, the voter then proceeded to another officer , who marked their left thumb with indelible ink, and onto another, who gave them two stamped ballot papers. The voter was then ready to vote.
At St. Aidan’s the IEC officials had nine ballot books of about 500 ballots, split between national and provincial rolls.
“When one box is full I make a new box with party agents supervising,” Matsheke said.
Jenny Emsue, DA party agent, said that they had dedicated agents at each voting station to ensure there was no “hanky-panky”.
Matsheke said that the presiding officers had to report in to local IEC headquarters in East London every three to five hours with an update.
“At 9pm, I will close the station and I will declare it a counting station,” she said.
