By Johnathan Paoli
The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has opened a criminal case following the theft of unused ballot papers and an official validation stamp at a voting station in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, as millions of residents headed to the polls in Wednesday’s local government elections.
IEC deputy chief electoral officer Masego Sheburi confirmed the incident during an update on the progress of voting on Wednesday in Midrand, saying precautionary measures had been implemented to prevent the stolen materials from being unlawfully used.
“The commission wishes to bring the following incident to the attention of the country. In one voting station in ward two in eThekwini, unmarked and unused ballots were stolen from the voting station. As well as the stamp that is used to validate the ballots,” Sheburi said.
He said there were 20 voting stations in the ward and the IEC had put measures in place to identify any of the stolen ballot papers should they surface at another station.
Sheburi said that ballot papers had to carry an official stamp on the back to be considered valid.
The stolen stamp had been allocated specifically for special voting days, making it distinguishable from the stamps being used during Wednesday’s election.
“A case has been opened with the SAPS and our staff have been relieved of their duty for their dereliction at that voting station,” he said.
The incident was among the challenges reported as municipalities across the country prepared to elect their new political representatives, with the IEC also acknowledging localised protests and weather-related access difficulties that delayed the opening of some voting stations.
Sheburi said a few stations in the Eastern Cape, KZN and Mpumalanga had opened later than the scheduled 7am start because of challenges, but confirmed that all stations were operating by 9am.
The IEC also reminded voters that the number of ballot papers they receive depends on the type of municipality in which they are registered.
Residents voting in local municipalities receive three ballots: a grey ballot to elect a ward councillor, a green ballot for their preferred political party in the local council and a yellow ballot to elect political party representatives to the district council.
Those voting in metropolitan municipalities receive two ballots, one for their preferred ward councillor and another for the proportional representation component of the metropolitan council.
Sheburi also highlighted arrangements for visually impaired voters, with universal ballot templates available at voting stations to enable braille-literate voters to mark their ballots independently.
He appealed to voters to remain patient where queues or delays occurred, saying election officials were available to provide assistance and address queries.
Voting stations are scheduled to close at 9pm, although voters already within the boundaries of a voting station when closing time arrives will still be assisted.
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