About 12 million South Africans had voted by 5pm on Wednesday in the country's local government elections, according to preliminary figures from the Independent Electoral Commission, Daily Maverick reports. More than 29.2 million people were registered at 23,696 voting stations. By 4pm turnout stood at 40%, compared with 44% overall in the 2021 local elections.
The commission had declared a war on queues, introducing handheld barcode scanners and requiring people to vote only at the station where they were registered. Its chief executive, Sy Mamabolo, said fewer than 1% of stations opened late, mostly because of stormy weather. Gauteng had the most voters at three million, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 2.5 million. Many voters described a smooth process, the outlet reports, though some still faced long waits at busier stations.
Source: Daily Maverick