Durban elderly voters brave mobility challenges to cast ballots in early IEC visits
Officials from the Electoral Commission visited The Association for the Aged (Tafta) centre, in Durban central, where they assisted more than 50 elderly voters to cast their ballots.
Thabiso Goba
Tina Castelyn (93) an elderly at The Association for the Aged (TAFTA) in Durban central. Picture: Thabiso Goba/EWN
Thabiso Goba/EWN
Some elderly voters in Durban said they still care about the future of the city, despite their advanced age.
Officials from the Electoral Commission visited the Association for the Aged (TAFTA) centre in Durban Central, where they assisted more than 50 elderly voters to cast their ballots.
This was part of the Electoral Commission’s (IEC) early voting programme, where it travels to voters who cannot come to a voting station due to being infirm.
The TAFTA centre, in Durban Central, was a hive of activity on Monday morning as elderly residents using walking sticks, wheelchairs and other mobility assistance devices gingerly made their way to makeshift voting stations to cast their ballots.
93-year-old Tina Catelyn told Eyewitness News that she has voted in every election since the dawn of democracy.
Catelyn was asked how important it was for her to keep voting; she said,
“Oh, it’s a necessity. It’s a hope for better living tomorrow. I think so; I may be wrong, but I think so.”
Another voter, 74-year-old Pushpa Doorsamy, said she wants the new government in eThekwini to also prioritise the elderly in its policies.
Pushpa Doorsamy said,
“As an elderly person, I want to be secure, protected, and guided when we walk in the streets, and the government must do things and create more homes for the people, and there are so many buildings that are empty, and they must create homes for the residents and school children.”
The Electoral Commission in KwaZulu-Natal said the first day of home visits has gone by without any issues.