Leaders of all major political parties were out and about on Saturday, encouraging unregistered citizens to take advantage of the Independent Electoral Commission’s (IEC’s) last voter registration weekend before the election.
Home Affairs Minister and Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) leader, Mangosuthu Buthelezi spent Saturday afternoon visiting polling stations in Empangeni, northern KwaZulu-Natal, said the party’s national organiser, Albert Mncwango.
Buthelezi had earlier attended the 120th commemoration of the Anglo-Zulu war.
In Gauteng, President Thabo Mbeki walked from house to house in Ward 3 of Orange Farm. He handed out pamphlets telling all South Africans to exercise their democratic right to direct their own future.
Both the New National Party (NNP) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) were out in force in the Cape Town area.
NNP leader and Western Cape premier Marthinus Van Schalkwyk visited Athlone, where he strolled around the suburb’s CBD speaking to pedestrians and stall holders.
”The party that gets all its supporters registered, that party will win the Western Cape,” he told a crowd who had gathered to hear his message.
”The NNP is gravely concerned that [the voters] are underestimating the importance of the 2004 election,” Van Schalkwyk said.
Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Tony Leon worked the crowds in Bishop Lavis, where he helped senior residents of the area to register.
”The race is very close in the Western Cape, and every single vote counts. We have to make sure that we register and vote so that we can keep the African National Congress out of power,” he said.
Generally voter registration was progressing well, the IEC reported, although there were some problems caused by rain in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.
”In KwaZulu-Natal 109 voting stations were still not open at 10am on Saturday,” said IEC senior manager Dumile Nzaidume
Nzaidume said that if rain continued interfering with registration on Sunday, the Commission would meet on Monday morning to sort out the issue, but no decision has yet been made.
By noon on Saturday 40 000 of the estimated 700 000 unregistered voters in the Western Cape had put their names on the voters’ role.
Nzaidume said that national figures for Saturday would only be available on Sunday morning, but a ”high number of people” in the country’s urban areas, particularly the informal settlements had gone to register on Saturday.
In the more rural provinces, Limpopo and Mpumalanga, registration progressed slowly, SABC radio news reported. Provincial electoral officer Chris Mepha said that in the Free State young people were not turning up in large numbers.
There were no reports of intimidation in Gauteng, as there had been on the last weekend, but the United Democratic Movement Youth Vanguard (UDMYV) said that it had received many telephone calls and emails from people in the Eastern Cape and Limpopo complaining that they were intimidated by ANC members.
UDMYV president Kushca Tlhoaela said ANC members had allegedly been intimidating and threatening voters to vote for the ruling party.
”We’ve had complaints from people saying that ANC members had threatened to take away their grants and housing subsidies if they did not vote for the ruling party.”
Nzaidume said he was unaware of the situation.
”All parties represented sit on a party liaison committee which is chaired by the IEC. In the event of any problems, the party with a complaint should contact their local municipal office of the IEC and report the issue.”
The voting stations were open from 8am to 5pm, Saturday and Sunday.
From Monday, those still unregistered would have until midnight on the day the election date is promulgated in the Government Gazette to get to a municipal electoral office and get their name on the roll.
With President Thabo Mbeki expected to announce the election date on February 11, the promulgation date looks set to be February 13, a Friday.
The commission would again visit prisons on the January 29 and 30 to do voter registration, although 5,100 inmates had already registered during prison registrations earlier in January.
The IEC encouraged voters to confirm their registration by visiting the IEC website, www.elections.org.za, or by dialling the IEC toll free number 0800 11 8000
Alternatively, people could send their ID numbers via Short Message Service (SMS) and confirm their registration status. MTN and Vodacom users should use the number 32810, and Cell C subscribers, 084 84 37060. – Sapa