Ballot-paper shortage allegedly delays voting at Durban polling station
Voters at Sydenham Primary School in Durban say they waited more than 30 minutes for the station to open, amid claims that officials did not have enough ballot papers.
According to residents of Sydenham in Durban, a ballot-paper shortage allegedly caused significant delays at the Sydenham Primary School polling station. The delay was such that residents had to wait more than 30 minutes before the station opened. It is reported that not enough ballot papers were available to accommodate the 100 people standing in the queue.
The slow communication from the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) was criticized, with one woman stating that they only addressed some of the voters about the challenges they were experiencing while leaving the rest in the dark. The woman also expressed her frustration, mentioning that she had things to do and was now left in limbo, having to return to work.
Another voter, Shane Sewmungal, captured a video of the situation, noting that he had to arrive early for an 9am appointment. Sewmungal, who had been voting in every election since he turned 18, expressed his concern over the delays, stating that the process should have been quicker given it was a local government election requiring only two ballot papers.
Written by urgent.news from IOL's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
