Municipal elections in 283 towns and cities

The 2011 4th South African Nationwide Municipal Elections in 283 cities and towns got underway this morning at 07h00.

By all acounts a chilly morning, with cool weather expected in most parts:
Johannesburg ▼7° ▲18° Cape Town ▼10° ▲18° Vereeniging ▼5° ▲19° Pretoria ▼10° ▲20° Durban 18° ▲24°


Close on 24 million people are registered to vote in the polls ......

People have already queuing at some stations across the country in a bid to cast their votes as early as possible.

MIDVAAL, JHB
All eyes will be on Midvaal, south of Johannesburg, as the ANC battles to regain control of the only DA run municipality in Gauteng.

At the Sicelo informal settlement, in Midvaal, there are almost 200 voters in the queue with some saying they have been queuing since 3am. They said they are there to vote for change.

The informal settlement has been the focus of the ANC campaign in Midvaal with close to 1,000 portable toilets delivered here by the provincial government last week.

They said the DA run municipality has not provided for poor black communities but the mayor said he asked for the toilets a year ago and the provincial government refused.

IEC officials told Eyewitness News that they expect up 9,000 to vote there today.


ZANDPRUIT INFORMAL SETTLEMENT, JHB There is a strong police presence in the area; has been the scene of recent violent service delivery protests.

MITCHELL’S PLAIN, Cape Town along with Khayelitsha and Hangberg in Hout Bay are regarded as hotspot areas in hotly contested Cape Town Municipality.

VOTING PROBLEMS

Despite assurances everything would be ready at 7am, it was not to be. Ballot papers not arrived at 7am in Soweto.

Other areas experiencing problems include Sunnyside, in Pretoria, Lonehill station and Protea Ridge north which were not opened by 7.30am.


POLITICIANS VOTING

DA leader Helen Zille will vote in Cape Town at 8am while her Johannesburg mayoral candidate Mmusi Maimane will cast his ballot at the Allan Glen High School in Roodepoort at the same time.

IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi votes at 9:45 in Ulundi and President Jacob Zuma has gone home to Nkandla in KwaZulu-Natal where he will vote at 11am.

Johannesburg Mayor Amos Masondo voted at the Eastgate Primary School.

PROBLEM AREAS

Potential problem areas have been identified as Flagstaff and Pedi in the Eastern Cape, Standerton and Balfour in Mpumalanga and Nongoma, Ulundi, Umsinga and Durban.

More on this story:
http://www.eyewitnessnews.co.za/

From Times Live: In spite of a few problem areas,

'Most peaceful' contest
The campaign for tomorrow's poll had been the most peaceful campaign of all post-apartheid electioneering, the Election Monitoring Network said yesterday

I visited the nearest polling station shortly after 07h00 Charter House Pre-Preparatory School to get a feel of the atmosphere. There were around 40 people braving the early morning chill, in a calm and jovial mood.

More soon
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