'We want to go home': Exhausted election officials plead

IEC voting officers have expressed concern over long working hours without relief.

On Thursday, TimesLIVE visited some voting stations around Pretoria and was met by tired and dissatisfied officials.

Staff at one station said they had finished counting votes at about 10am but at 12pm they were still there, waiting to sign a register to get paid.

They complained they had gone the whole of Wednesday and overnight without food or water.

“They gave us money to buy food but they didn't give us time to go buy the food. We were locked inside here since 5am [on Wednesday]. They just said we must find someone to go buy for us. Who, we don't know,” one said.

An official in Hatfield said she had to leave her house at 3am on Wednesday to get to the voting station in Hatfield at 5am.

“I have been here since then,” she said at 9.30am on Thursday.

“I have had enough of this, I have a child and I want to go home.

“I am so disappointed. We are done doing our part of the job, why are we still here?”

A woman catching some sun while clutching her fleece blanket, said they had not been allowed to go outside earlier. On the long voting process, she said: “It's been hell. We didn't get any relief.”

Another said: “I will never ever in my life work for the IEC again, not even if they say they will pay me R5,000.

“The money we are getting is so little, it's like we are volunteers.”

TimesLIVE