Polokwane - Avon residents in Senwabarwana, Limpopo, angered by the demarcation of their wards have allegedly threatened officials of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) with violence if they open a voting station there.
IEC provincial electoral officer, Nkaro Mateta, said: "Our officials are unable to open a voting station at Selaelo Primary School in Avon, Senwabarwana because they have been threatened with violence by local residents who don't want to be moved from Ward 10.
"We also heard that the school principal has refused to unlock the gates of the school fearing that the angry residents might vandalise the school."
He said people should understand that ward boundaries were the responsibility of the Municipal Demarcation Board, not the IEC.
Regarding areas that are inaccessible in the Lepelle-Nkupi and Sekhukhune Districts as a result of the heavy rains, Mateta said they had deployed officials to closely monitor the situation and to see how they can access the affected villages.
More than half of the registration stations in the Thulamela municipality in the Vhembe District were opened at 8am this morning. This was one of the areas most affected by the floods.
"On average, we are at almost 100 percent and we will continue to closely monitor the situation," she said.
Mateta said officials would embark on a door-to-door voter registration process at a village situated at the mountainous area of Ha-Malebogo in Blouberg. According to Mateta, the village is inaccessible with a vehicle.
"The 50 households are built on top of the mountain and there is no road to go up there using a vehicle and there is no school or any other structure that we can use as a voting station, so our officials will have to leave vehicles at the foot of the mountain and walk to the village to embark on door-to-door registration."
The province has set a target to register 100 000 new voters at the end of the voter registration drive which will end tomorrow at 5pm.
