Cape Town – As a long queue at the Milnerton High School, in Cape Town, stretched from the voting booths in the classrooms all the way to outside the gate, a frail looking Archbishop Desmond Tutu, after submitting his ballot, said that voting remained a dream for him as a black South African.
The Archbishop, who resides in the area, came out to vote on Wednesday just after 9am, accompanied by his wife.
Speaking to journalists after casting his vote, the Archbishop said voting for him still remained a dream come true.
“It still is a dream, you know, that one can vote in South Africa as a black person. It is fantastic and I hope everybody will want to use their vote in the right way,” he said.
When he arrived, the Archbishop got out of his car and was escorted to the front of the queue, where his Smart ID card was scanned.
He then went into the voting station and was handed a ballot paper before he made his mark.
As he walked out after casting his vote, the Archbishop turned to the residents who still waited in the queue and thanked them for allowing him to go first as a senior citizen.
As he went into his car, the Archbishop said he was impressed by the turn out and added that he was not expecting to see so many voters so early in the morning.
The voting station opened at 7am for voting.
By that time, residents had come out in their large numbers and the queue spilled onto the street.
Christina Oosthuizen, a resident in the area, said she arrived at the Milnerton High School just after 7am and that despite waiting in the queue for a while, it was definitely worth her time.
“At the end of the day, the change that we want is going to depend on the mark that we put down. If we complain that there is no change, then we should actually ask ourselves if we have actually made a point of coming out and putting the mark where it counts.”
Another voter, Delores Van Eden, said after casting her vote that she voted to ensure that the country becomes a better place for her and her children to live in.
Bruce McHelm said after casting his vote that he was impressed with the “good turn out and it shows that people were serious about the elections this time around.
“Come practice your right. It is a holiday, come vote."
Another voter, Wesley Oliver, also urged people to come out to vote.
“You need to come out to vote.
“If you want to carry on living in this country and making a difference, you need to have your say even if it takes an hour and a half of you standing in the queue. You have got to do what you’ve got to do. It is our country and we must all have our say,” he said.
Just over 5 700 people are registered to vote at the school.
Voting closes at 7pm tonight. – SAnews.gov.za
