By Lekhotla Mokoena
Different political chants reverberated through the streets of Metsimaholo Local Municipality and other towns in the Fezile Dabi District Municipality as early as Wednesday morning as political parties urged their followers to go to the voting stations.
Visible on the streets with their different party regalia such as T-shirts and flags were parties such as the African National Congress, Democratic Alliance, Economic Freedom Fighters, and the new kid, African Congress for Transformation, formed by the former ANC Secretary General, Ace Magashule, African Transformation Movement and other political parties.
Such a mood was necessary in Metsimaholo Local Municipality, a multi-party municipality led since the 2021 municipal elections.
Some political parties even offered transport to and from the voting stations to voters, especially the elderly.
Besides the one case of a 64-year-old suspect, who was released on warning after she was caught on video knocking off an ANC poster, the mood was that of tolerance, calmness and peace as each party tried to make last pleas for the voters’ cross.
The suspect appeared in court before the elections on the 22nd May 2024 and the matter was postponed.
Some of the voters expressed their views after the voting. Selina Mokoena who lives in Zamdela in the Metsimaholo Local Municipality said she has lot of expectations from this elections.
“I am expecting a lot from the party that I have voted for. I have been voting so many times before without any visible changes in our lives. I am hopeful that this time around things will be better,” said Mokoena.
Another Metsimaholo resident Veronica Mamabula was not hopeful despite casting her vote on Wednesday. She is not hopeful of any drastic changes. “I have voted because I felt I had to do so but I’m not expecting any miracles for us who have been staying in an informal settlement in Zamdela Phase 4 for years without any basic services whatsoever. Today, we have children who were born in that place and now are attending school, just to show how long we have been neglected in that place”
This year’s elections are mostly contested polls with new parties, independent candidates and break-aways from established parties, particularly the ANC. The most notable party is Magashule’s ACT, and Umkhonto we Sizwe under the leadership of Former ANC and State President Jacob Zuma.
Magashule was in high spirits as he voted for his party in his hometown of Tumahole, Parys, in the Ngwathe Local Municipality in the Free State. His voting station was the AME Church in Tumahole. Immediately after casting a vote, he went to representatives of different parties to shake hands with them.
There were queues in most voting stations in Tumahole until late hours including in one voting station Bernard Molokoane Comprehensive School were there were still voting lines way after seven in the evening.
According to Sasolburg police, no incidents of intimidation and violence were reported to them on the day. They described voting as peaceful and calm. This article has been produced in collaboration with Media Monitoring Africa (MMA), the watchdog for ethical and fair journalism that upholds human rights.
