A polling station at Sherwood NG Church in Gkebela. (Candice Bezuidenhout/News24)
- Some special voters in Nelson Mandela Bay were outraged by the long wait times.
- Several people spent most of the day at the polling place in Sherwood.
- However, the IEC reported that voting for the special ballot had begun smoothly.
Voting at one of Nelson Mandela Bay's busiest polling stations moved at a very slow pace during a special voting session on Monday.
At Sherwood NG Church in Gkebera, the polling station remained crowded an hour after its gates closed at 7pm, with nearly 200 cars parked inside and outside the premises.
For a visibly shaken 59-year-old, Johan Theron, the “nightmare” was too much.
“I waited four and a half hours to vote,” he said, pointing to his watch.
“This whole process has been a nightmare because the people here are pathetic. They were unprepared and we wasted precious time.”
Some voters who arrived when polling places opened at 9 a.m. finally left around 6 p.m., Theron said.
He said there had been several delays, one of which was that the voter rolls were not arranged in alphabetical order, causing confusion in finding voters' names.
“They were trying to find people's names, they were going through 79 pages trying to find them, but they were ultimately unsuccessful. At one point the machine went offline and they just sat there and didn't do anything.”
Read | 2024 Elections: Voting for special elections begins smoothly, IEC announces
Theron said about 200 people were still waiting in line as of 6 p.m., an hour before polls were scheduled to close.
“I thought because I registered for the special vote that it would be over quicker, but that was not the case at all. If I had to sum up the day in one word, it would be that it was a waste of time.”
Valerie Theron added: “I've heard things have gone well at other polling stations, but at this one, there were so many names on the rolls that I couldn't find them.”
“There were three ballot boxes, but we just added two more at around 2 p.m.”
For Sonia York, the situation was made worse by the fact that her children were waiting.
She said she arrived at her polling station around 6 p.m. but hadn't yet entered the building two hours later.
“I can't go tomorrow so I'll just have to wait in line until it's my turn. I'm worried about how long it will take because my kids are waiting at home.”
York said he had been looking forward to voting and having his voice heard, but felt it wasn't worth it because of the “poor planning.”
“I was at Sunridge. [voting station]it was empty, but I live in Sherwood, so I can't vote there.”
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York said he parked his car at a shopping centre across the road, expecting him to return shortly.
But as soon as it got dark she ran to her car, otherwise the gates to the complex would close and she would be left behind.
“The long wait was frustrating. I have a family and children at home. I have responsibilities to attend to.”
There were no party representatives outside the polling stations.
News24 was not allowed inside the venue after 5pm.
The South African Electoral Commission (IEC) reported that Monday's special vote got off to a smooth start, despite some hiccups in some parts of the country, including delays to the opening of polling stations.
The country's first official voting day was marred by sporadic protests in parts of the Eastern Cape and Gauteng, with some polling stations reported not opening, but the IEC indicated that only 0.1% of voters experienced problems voting.
Special voting will continue on Tuesday ahead of Election Day for the rest of the region on Wednesday, with polling stations opening at 7am.
