The elections kicked off in KwaZulu-Natal on Monday with the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) presiding over special votes for those who will not be able to visit voting stations on May 29.
This year, the IEC approved over 1.6 million applications for special votes – including home visits by the IEC for those who cannot make it to voting stations; two days of voting for the elderly; and for service workers who will be on duty during Wednesday’s national and provincial elections.
At Durban’s City Hall, voters were guided to a station to hand in their IDs, where they were given three ballot papers – regional, provincial and national – and two envelopes. The province has 320 010 voters who were approved to cast a special vote.
Khatija Khan, 82, was among those casting her special vote as her health prevented her from queueing on Wednesday, the main election day.
Accompanied by her son, Khan said she started voting in the first-ever democratic elections in 1994. She stressed the importance of voting, saying it was the most powerful way to voice out one’s concerns.
“I started voting in 1994, I still remember the first time I voted because we stood in long queues and waited several hours just to exercise the right we did not have previously.
“It is so important that you vote as a South African citizen, personally there hasn’t been any election that I did not vote in. I even tell my children and grandchildren to register to vote,” Khan said.
She said she plans on voting again in the 2026 local government elections.
Another voter who registered for a special vote, Namhla Mthimkhulu, said she hoped her vote would help grow the economy and create employment for South Africans.
Mthimkhulu, a first-time voter, said she spent the past few months doing her research and reading the manifestos of the different political parties.
“I am really happy, and I really hope my vote will make a difference. As young as I am, I also wish more young people would go out in their numbers on May 29 to cast their votes,” Mthimkhulu said.
Scores of emergency workers were seen also making their way to vote on Monday.
Special voting will continue on Tuesday with voting stations set to open at 9am and close at 5pm.
Meanwhile, political figures are to vote in different parts of the province on Wednesday with former president Jacob Zuma and the IFP’s premier candidate Thami Ntuli expected to vote at separate venues in Nkandla.
The DA’s federal leader, John Steenhuisen, is to vote in Durban North, while IFP president Velenkosini Hlabisa will cast his vote at Mthekelezi Primary School in Hlabisa.
Today, the DA’s KZN premier candidate Chris Pappas is to cast his vote at Thembelihle Primary School in Howick.
The Mercury