Casting her special vote a day before national elections day, 103-year-old Norah Barnes made a special journey to H. A Jack School in Highlands North in Johannesburg on Tuesday.
Born in 1920, Barnes has experienced decades of South Africa’s history, witnessing both its struggles and triumphs.
Accompanied by her daughter to the polling station, she emphasised the importance of civic duty and taking part in the democratic process.
“It is extremely important for me to vote,” Barnes told the Rosebank Killarney Gazette.
“I will never stop voting no matter my age.”
Special voting
Between Monday and Tuesday, a total of 937 144 voters cast special votes, the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) confirmed.
“The Electoral Commission extends its gratitude to South Africans who registered for and cast special votes at 22 626 voting stations and home visits over the past two days,” it said.
“Similarly, we are pleased by the diligence of the electoral staff who visited voters at homes and places of confinement to administer home visits.”
The Commission said the special votes figures were much higher than in previous elections, and “augers well for turnout tomorrow.”
2024 National and Provincial elections
On Wednesday, South Africans will be voting to elect a new National Assembly and state legislatures. The National Assembly will choose the president for the next five years.
This is South Africa’s seventh democratic general election since 1994 and is being viewed as the most competitive one yet.
After 30 years of rule, the African National Congress needs 50 percent of the National Assembly to maintain its parliamentary majority.
By 13:00 on Wednesday, the IEC said that 93% of voting stations had opened on time, with others following later.
“There were a number of voting stations that delayed opening because of late delivery of materials, delayed escorts by security services or protests by certain community members,” it said.
According to the IEC, 27.79 million South Africans aged 18 and above registered to vote in this year’s elections. This is up from 26.74 million in 2019.