Gale Force winds cause havoc in Garden Route on election day

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 Except for gale force winds wrecking havoc for voters and a few voting stations not opening on time, voting on the Garden Route has been running smoothly so far.

By 12pm on Wednesday no major incidents had been reported by the various voting stations from George to Plettenberg Bay.

In George however voting was delayed by more than an hour after strong wind during Tuesday night caused one of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) tents to collapse.

Eden councillor Tertius Simmers said thousands of voters wanting to make their mark in the fifth democratic national elections started flocking to the polls early on Wednesday morning braving gusts of up to 65km/h. "So far more than 17 000 people have cast their votes and the wind and the long queues have been the only issues we've experienced in the George area," Simmers said.

He added that there had also been reports of uniformed IEC officials turning away voters. "They turn people away because they are not on that particular station's roll and fail to tell them that they are allowed to vote at any station, because it is a national election."
"We have also noticed voters not going to the various parties' stands outside the voting stations and going straight in to vote out of fear of intimidation. They don't want to be seen supporting a specific party."

Voters in Knysna and the Bitou area made sure election day started off on a high note, by playing loud music to keep those in the queues entertained.
"We have not had any incidents," Knysna police spokesman Constable Chris Spies said.

"No election-related incidents have been reported yet and we are positive that that would remain the case all day," Plettenberg Bay police spokesman Lieutenant Marlene Pieterse said.
She however warned that police had taken a no tolerance approach to election day and that no political marches, meetings, demonstrations or events would be allowed. "We [police] are authorised to act on any infringements which can result in a fine or imprisonment of five years."

She added that Bitou police were keeping an eye on the various voting stations, while officers from the George tactical response team and public order policing unit were assisting in the general Bitou area.