Dozens of first-time voters opted to spend part of their weekend participating in the final voter registration to ensure they can vote in the upcoming national elections.
Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) provincial electoral officer Kayakazi Magudumana said the final registration weekend had gone relatively well, with only a few of the province’s 4,791 stations not opening on time or at all.
And it was all smiles at many Bay voting stations, particularly for teenagers about to vote for the first time.
Friends Gershwin Julies and Renaldo Spierman, both 18, registered at Kruisrivier Primary in Uitenhage.
“It is a good feeling to know we are finally able to make a difference in the country,” Julies said. “We have had [identity documents] since we were 16, but this is the first time we are actually able to use them for something meaningful.
“We hear and see all this bad news on the TV, so I hope after the election the right people will be in power to help the country do better.”
In Lorraine, at the Emmanuel Church voting station, 20-year-old Jason Waterford said he was excited to vote because despite being old enough to do so two years ago, this year would be his first time.
“In the local election I turned 18 only in December that year, so even though I have been of age to vote I haven’t actually done it.
“So I am actually quite excited to vote in the national elections [in May],” he said.
Magudumana said: “We can report that day one of the registration weekend progressed smoothly from the perspective of readiness and availability of the IEC officials. Only 1.6% [of the voting stations] were either open part of the day or not at all and the reason for this was regrettably something we had no control over.
“The 0.9% of total stations that posed challenges on day two were split sporadically throughout the province and these were addressed with our officials in those areas.”