LGE 2026 | Cape Town special voting: Scores of stations unprepared
The IEC said it’s making steady progress to rectify the problems but is yet to provide an official update on the status of the delivery of ballots to the affected stations.
Lindsay Dentlinger
(Picture: © inkdrop/123rf.com)
© inkdrop/123rf.com
It’s been a mixed experience for special voters in the Cape Town metro on Monday, with scores of stations unprepared for early voters.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) said it’s making steady progress to rectify the problems but is yet to provide an official update on the status of the delivery of ballots to the affected stations.
Earlier on Monday, it apologised to voters who turned up early at the 217 stations where ballot papers had not yet arrived.
The problem appears to be widespread across the metro, from the Deep South to the West Coast and the northern suburbs.
It’s the first day of special voting for pensioners, the infirm and those who will be working on election day to cast their ballots at their voting station.
But many were met with a non-functioning voting station, where ballot papers had not yet arrived.
Each of the city’s 116 wards has a unique ballot paper reflecting the candidates contesting the election in that specific area.
Democratic Alliance (DA) Durbanville candidate Theresa Uys said the elderly in ward 112 were frustrated by the delays.
“A 79-year-old lady who is not well at all, she has been sitting for an hour and a half. There’s no ballot sheets. There are no machines.”
Meanwhile, in Camps Bay, this resident reported no hiccups.
“It went very smoothly. Everything is ready, I got two ballots. I was in and out in two minutes.”
The IEC said only the metro has been affected by the delays in the delivery of ballot papers.
The provincial office said it’s steadily working to resolve the problems in the metro, but elsewhere in the province, operations are running smoothly.