All set for second round of ward committee polls

03 February 2017

 

More than 692 9000 voters are expected to cast their ballots when the City of Johannesburg holds its second round of ward committee elections this weekend.

 

The elections will be held in 74 voting stations across three regions – B, C and F – on Saturday February 4. Voting stations open at 9am and close at 5pm.

Speaker of Council Cllr Vasco da Gama said more than 590 City employees would be deployed to various voting stations to conduct the elections.

Unlike in previous years, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) will not be running the ward committee elections.

The Roodepoort Civic Centre in Region C will serve as the main nerve centre. The first round of the 2017 ward committee elections were held on Saturday January 28 when more than 70 000 voters in regions A and E turned out to cast their ballots.

Established in terms of the Local Authorities Act of 1998, ward committees play a crucial role in municipal affairs in that they assist democratically elected public representatives in all wards to carry out their mandates.

“Our staff members will ensure that people have been registered before they can vote. They will make sure that identity documents are tagged properly, voters’ thumbs are inked and that there is no political interference,” said Cllr Da Gama.

He said personnel from the Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD), Emergency Management Services (EMS) and City Power would also be deployed to the various voting stations.

“All the essential services will form part of the team in case there is a need for them on the ground. Their services will be necessary because during ward committee elections there are fights that break out. There will be the nerve centre to ensure that our voting stations are safe,” the Speaker said.

He said ballot papers had been printed but added that the City had put contingency measures in place in case there were more ballot papers needed.

“We can only deliver our equipment in the morning because we want to ensure that there is no manipulation. Transport to all the voting stations is ready and all the backup plans are there,” he said.

WhatsApp groups will be used by presiding officers in all the regions to communicate challenges they might encounter.

“Right now, we are making a checklist of all boxes that will be delivered at the voting stations. We’re sealing the boxes and numbering them. We’re also making sure that all the venues are available,” Cllr Da Gama said.