IEC satisfied with registration turn out

By Mikhaila Crowie
9 February 2009

The Independent Electoral Commission in the Western Cape has said that service delivery protests in Khayelitsha on Saturday did not really interfere with voter registration.

Khayelitsha residents protested over poor service delivery in area. The IEC was forced to interrupt the voter registration process for a short period at a nearby registration point.

Courtney Sampson, Head of the IEC in the Western Cape, said the people protested because of service delivery.

“Three of the voting stations were not operational for awhile but registration continued in the afternoon from vehicles, not in the venues that we usually use.”

The IEC reported that they have over 21 million registers on the voters roll. Sampson said he was delighted with the turn out at the registration stations.

“In terms of the logistical arrangements, we are very very satisfied in the way in which our staff have worked and logistically things went well.”

Sampson said the people have really made use of the opportunity to register across the province.