Cape Town man dies while waiting to vote
A 53-year old voter died of a heart attack while waiting in a queue to vote in Tafelsig on the Cape Flats on Wednesday afternoon.
Abdul Karriem Rhode had entered the polling precinct of Tafelsig library and was waiting his turn to make his cross when he collapsed shortly after 4pm.
Tafelsig was the scene of violent confrontations over the previous four days, which saw police evicting informal settlers from a field they had invaded in the area.
Courtney Sampson, chief electoral officer for the Western Cape, speaking to a gathering of journalists and politicians at the IEC offices in Bellville-South expressed his sympathy and offered condolences to the Rhode family.
Apart from the death of Rhode, he said, the polling stations in Cape Town had been peaceful, and quiet.
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There had been no violence reported in the Western Cape, the IEC confirmed.
‘There has been a smooth flow of voters to the poll and there has not been a bad turnout,” said Sampson.
