The IEC experienced minimal disruptions on the first day of special voting on Monday, with 1.6 million people across the country approved to cast special votes over two days.

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) said it was happy with the turnout on the first day of special voting on Monday, with an estimated 201,794 people visiting voting stations across the country to cast their ballots by 2pm.

A special vote allows a registered voter who can't vote at their voting station on election day to cast their ballot on a predetermined day before the main polls open.

For the 2024 national and provincial elections, special voting will take place on 27 and 28 May from 9am to 5pm. (Voting stations on Wednesday will be open from 7am to 9pm.)

There are 1,668,076 approved special votes for the 2024 elections. Of those, 624,593 voters have been approved to cast their ballots at home. Over 62,000 IEC officials, as well as political party agents and observers, will be conducting home visits on Monday and Tuesday.

Western Cape

In the Western Cape, 137,558 people applied to cast their ballots by special vote.

Voting stations visited by Daily Maverick around Cape Town were not busy on Monday, with only a handful of people casting their ballots.

For Loyiso Ngadlela in Khayelitsha, voting on Monday was a reminder of the power people...