Mother Nature spoils her ballot in Cape Town south, but keeps baboons at bay

The battle for Cape Town’s ward 61 turned into a fight against Mother Nature rather than one between rival candidates.

Persistent rain, and occasional downpours, saw buckets being deployed inside the Apostolic Faith Mission polling station in Red Hill, where many of the area’s 550 registered voters appeared to have voted to stay at home. Not a single voter was present at the venue, manned by about a dozen IEC officials and party agents, when Sunday Times Daily visited at about 3pm. “It’s always quiet here — no violence,” said one party agent.

In Da Gama Park large puddles did not deter voters, who turned up throughout the day. Some party agents blamed the weather for a temporary disruption of the new VMD automated registration system.

In nearby Da Gama Park large puddles did not deter voters, who turned up throughout the day. Some party agents blamed the weather for a temporary disruption of the new VMD automated registration system. “We were forced to do a manual process, which actually went faster,” said one. Patriotic Alliance agent Athena Delcarme said the delay meant people had to queue longer in the rain, “but there were few complaints”.

A ballot box shortage caused voting delays in Simon’s Town, where many elderly residents huddled beneath umbrellas outside the area’s polling station. Colleen Liell-Cock, wife of DA ward councillor Simon Liell-Cock, said additional ballot boxes had still not been delivered by 4pm when Sunday Times Daily visited the area. Agents had also requested a second VMD machine, to no avail. “The morning was super-slow and things only really got going after about four hours,” Liell-Cock said.

However, the glitches did little to quash election day camaraderie, she added. “There was no complaining, no moaning. All were in good spirits. It was a great community effort. We handed around some big umbrellas that people were able to huddle under,” she said. 

An upside to Monday’s inclement weather was a baboon-free election day, with the area’s famous primates opting to take cover in the mountains rather than raid rubbish bins in town. Baboons are an emotive topic in ward 61, where opinion on how best to manage them is divided. “We only see them when it’s warm,” confirmed a security official at the Red Hill station.