Police were called to Glebelands hostel when a commotion broke out between members of the uMkhonto we Sizwe Party (MKP) and the ANC at the Umlazi-based hostel.
MK Party members alleged the ANC was campaigning at the voting station and electoral officials were turning a blind eye.
“How is the ANC allowed to campaign within the premises where there is to be free and fair elections? They are giving out party T-shirts in the voting lines, which is clear campaigning and the IEC is doing nothing about it. That is what uMkhonto we Sizwe Party is complaining about,” said Guy Malamba, an MK member in ward 76.
Scores of people were seen holding ANC-branded T-shirts in the lines.
Simphiwe Duma, ANC deputy chair in ward 76, conceded that the party had handed out the shirts but denied it was campaigning.
“We did not approach people in the voting lines. People had asked for T-shirts for days, but we managed to get them only today [Wednesday]. People had been asking for them since the morning so when the shirts arrived we placed them between the lines and people came to fetch them. We did not approach people to take them or tell them to vote ANC,” he said.
You must think very lowly of our people if you think T-shirts can sway their votes.
— Simphiwe Duma, ANC deputy chair in ward 76
“You don't campaign by giving out T-shirts. You campaign through service delivery. You must think very lowly of our people if you think T-shirts can sway their votes.”
The police were called to the station to calm the situation.
That was allegedly the second incident at the hostel to which police had to be called.
Police were reportedly called earlier to calm voters after only one of the five voting stations in the hostel was operational.
The rest were closed because of technical malfunctions of IEC equipment.
“We came in around 6am to vote, but only one station was open. By 9.30am the lines were almost 2km long and no-one was coming to tell us anything. That caused confusion and frustration among people,” said Delani Mdleko, a hostel resident.
“Some people left without voting because, to be honest, it's really not worth it to wait in the sun like this. I'd rather wait in queues for grants because there you know you will come out with money,” said Nontobeko Msane, another resident.
An IEC official at the station confirmed to TimesLIVE Premium they had experienced “challenges” with networks and scanners, which made the voting proceed much slower. The official said it was highly possible that some of the 2,000 people who registered at the station might not get to vote before the 9pm deadline.
KZN police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi said there had not been any major reported incidents.
He reiterated that additional resources had been made available in the voting stations that were identified as high-risk, which the Glebelands hostel is, as confirmed by the IEC.
