Richard Seton-Rogers was the first to cast his vote at Dainfern College Primary School this morning as a registered special voter in the 2019 National and Provincial Elections.
Seton-Rogers, who will be away due to work commitments on 8 May 2019, shared a voting station with IEC Chairperson Glen Mashinini, who also cast his vote at the primary school.
A special vote allows a registered voter, who can't vote at their voting station on Election Day, to apply to vote on a predetermined day before Election Day.
“… We will be working and therefore won’t be able to come to the voting station [on Election Day]. This was also my opportunity to check the state of readiness at the station,” said Mashinini.
The IEC Chairperson said he was pleased with the state of readiness at the voting station.
“I’m very impressed with what I have seen. Even members of the public that I came across as I was walking in indicated that everything was in order.
“We are very pleased and this should be exemplary throughout the country,” said Mashinini.
Special vote applications opened on 4 April and closed on 18 April 2019. By law, once applications for special votes have been closed, no exceptions can be made.
According to the IEC, 774 094 voters have been granted permission to cast a special vote on 6 and 7 May 2019. Of the total special voters, 452 418 (58.4%) of these will be done through a home visit by election officials and 321 676 voters (41.6%) at their voting stations. For special votes - voting stations open at 9am and close at 5pm.
Sandy Makola, who was also among the early bird voters at Dainfern College, said he felt excited when casting his vote.
“It is important for us to vote so we can grow the economy. It is a right that was fought for by the former liberators of the movement,” said Makola.
If, due to unforeseen circumstances, registered special voters are unable to vote in the designated two days, they will still be allowed to vote on Election Day. - SAnews.gov.za
