Thousands turn out to vote in ward committee elections

31 January 2017

 

More than 70 000 residents took part in the first round of the 2017 City of Johannesburg ward committee elections in regions A and E at the weekend, with communities in Alexandra and Ivory Park turning out in large numbers to cast their votes for their preferred candidates.

 

Region A, the northern gateway to the city, constitutes areas such as Midrand, Vorna Valley, Ivory Park, Diepsloot, Rabie Ridge, Kyalami, Kya Sand, Halfway House, Dainfern, Ebony Park, Lonehill, Sunninghill and Witkoppen.

Region E comprises areas that include Alexandra, Sandton, Wynberg, Fourways, Atholl, Bramley, Bruma, Bryanston, Sandringham, Waverley, Woodmead, Saxonwold and Savoy Estate.

Speaking at the nerve centre in Sandton at the weekend, Speaker of Council Cllr Vasco da Gama said compared to the previous ward committee elections, the first round of voting went off “relatively well”.

“The biggest number of votes we received were from a voting station in Alexandra, where 886 ballots were cast. We also had 820 and 769 votes in two Ivory Park wards. The rest of the voting stations in both regions averaged 600 votes,” said Cllr Da Gama.

The Speaker said there were a few voting stations that experienced technical problems initially.

“Equipment in some voting stations was delivered late. As a result of such delays, we had to extend voting time by two hours,” said Cllr Da Gama.

The counting of the votes was concluded on Sunday January 29. “Our first round went relatively well. In the previous elections, there were many problems that led to postponements of voting dates,” said the Speaker.

He said the City would ensure that the situation improved in the next two rounds.

“We have listed all the problems we have come across so we do not face them again. We don’t anticipate any difficulties next week,” he said.

The Dr Knak Primary School voting station in Alexandra saw community members turning out in big numbers to vote.

“The only problem we encountered at this station was with demarcation. We received residents from ward 106, whose their designated voting station was in ward 107. But we managed to make corrections,” said Presiding Officer Nolly Gamathi.

The Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) assisted in maintaining law and order. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is not conducting this year’s ward committee elections.

“This is the first time the City is conducting the ward committee elections by itself. But we have enlisted help from the previous IEC staff for experience,” Cllr Da Gama said.

“We are making sure that the elections are free and fair, without any interference from political parties. We have prevented all local councillors from entering the voting stations. Only ward candidates can be inside the voting stations.

“We are doing this to ensure that there are no interruptions during the electoral process,” said Cllr Da Gama.

The next round of the voting will be held in regions B, C and F on Saturday February 4. Voting stations open at 9am and close at 5pm.

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.