/ 2 June 1999

LATE START IN MPUMA

POLLING stations opened late on Wednesday in several parts of Mpumalanga because more than 300000 ballot papers were not delivered to the right places. IEC provincial media officer Leon Mbangwa said some ballot papers intended for Standerton, White River, Middelburg, and the Lowveld District Council were delivered instead to the IEC offices in Nelspruit. “We began getting calls yesterday and last night from local electoral officers, saying they were short of supplies,” said Mbangwa. “Altogether 155000 national ballot papers, and another 155 000 provincial ballot papers landed up at our offices, and we sent them out through Skynet courier service last night,” said Mbangwa.