IEC: Officials dismissed in KZN
Voting in the 2016 local government elections got off to a smooth amid reports of IEC staff that were dismissed in KwaZulu-Natal.
"The vast majority of the country's 22,612 voting stations reported being open on time at 7am and that voting was flowing smoothly," IEC chairperson Vuma Glen Mashinini told reporters at the national results operations centre in Tshwane.
Mashinini said the situation was reported as calm and voting was underway in areas identified as potential hotspots in the run-up to the elections, including Vuwani, Limpopo; Emfuleni and Midvaal in Gauteng; and Umzimkhulu in KwaZulu-Natal.
Meanwhile the Chief Electoral Officer, Mosotho Moepya confirmed that there were instances where they had to relieve staff of their dutys at polling stations in KwaZulu-Natal.
Isolated reports of unrest and community protests affecting the start of voting were only received from a few wards in the Eastern Cape.