Delays at polling stations may be tactic to extend voting by a day, says Malema

EFF leader Julius Malema has appealed to the electoral commission (IEC) to “speed up” the process of voting as he lamented the long queues at polling stations around the country.

This comes as a bulk of South Africans cast their vote in what is considered a hotly contested election.

Malema joined many Seshego residents at Mponagele Lower Primary School, where he's always voted since becoming a registered voter. He arrived at noon with his wife and fellow leader Godrich Gardee but had to wait nearly four hours to mark his ballot.

Speaking outside the voting booth, Malema said: “I really don't know what went terribly wrong because I've voted in this voting station all my voting life, and I've never experienced a situation where a voter has to wait for four hours to cast their vote.

“I always used to come here with my grandmother and we used to queue. She wouldn't even sit down because the queue was quicker. This queue was not long, but the process was slow.”

He said the sentiment was raised by other leaders casting their votes at various stations around the country.

This, he said, raised the suspicion that plans were afoot to extend voting by a day.

“We can't allow any voting to be extended to the following day because plans were never made from the parties' side to secure the votes overnight. Our party agents know that today they are going to guard the votes [and] after voting, the counting will start at the centre.

“If you extend it by a day, where are the party plans? Because that has never been anywhere in the discussion with the IEC. So we cannot allow a deliberate delay.”

Malema also raised an issue with the supposed change in the position of the voting booths, saying it was “undemocratic”. He said the norm was to place them in such a way that no-one could stand behind a voter.

Despite his assertions, he still maintained confidence in the IEC in the way it handled the voting process.

Malema weighed in on former ally Jossey Buthane's presence and antics when Malema arrived at the school, dismissing him as someone who's “never been an issue”.

“We really are not bothered, we are here. It's not for the first time, there were others who behaved that way in my presence and they've all ended up in the political dustbin. They always choose that road.”

Malema said his party would accept any outcome, even if his party is defeated.

TimesLIVE