Only 14 people had cast their ballots at a voting station in Linden, Johannesburg, on Monday when ANC NEC member and International Relations Minister Lindiwe Sisulu arrived at the polling station where she has voted since 1994.

Sisulu was among the 774,094 citizens approved to take part in special voting on Monday and Tuesday, which marked the first ballots cast within the country after voting abroad occurred on 27 April.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said voting was slow, but no major incidents had been reported.

“With an average of only 14 special votes per voting station, special voting provides the perfect opportunity for a ‘dress rehearsal’ to ensure all logistics, personnel and processes are in place for Election Day,” said the IEC.

It said no major incidents had been reported by midday on Monday and the most of the 22,924 voting stations were operational, although some election materials had been delivered late, some staff did not arrive due to illness and some tents had been pitched at the last minute.

“The Electoral Commission has contingency plans in place for election officials who may be absent on any of the voting days and has back-up materials where necessary,” said the IEC.

Of those approved for special voting, more than 452,000 will receive home visits from IEC officials and 321,000 can visit voting stations on Monday and Tuesday.

Special votes were approved for those who cannot attend a polling station on 8 May due to health or work reasons.

With Ramadan beginning on Tuesday, the IEC also allowed Muslim voters to cast special votes if they could not get to the polls on Wednesday for religious reasons.

Chief Electoral Officer Sy Mamabolo on Sunday urged communities not to hold service delivery protests during the election and warned it was illegal to disrupt voting.

Security officials have warned that KwaZulu-Natal is one potential site where protests could disrupt voting and IEC staff were reportedly delayed in delivering election materials on Monday due to protests in a number of areas, including Umlazi and Maphumulo. Some communities in North West have also been identified as potential hotspots for unrest.

IEC chairperson Glen Mashinini told media on Monday the IEC was investigating whether ballot boxes found on a street in Tzaneen, Limpopo, belonged to the commission.

“If those boxes are in any way our boxes, it will be regrettable and the matter will be attended to accordingly with whoever the officer is, but at this stage, our understanding is that it is not ballot papers, it is ballot boxes that were destined for a destination. How they got on the ground we are not yet sure, but we will be providing a report on that,” said Mashinini while voting in Dainfern, Johannesburg.

Such incidents could play a role later in the week as any interested party can lodge objections to the results of the elections until 9pm on Friday.

While the ANC is expected to win the national vote, opposition parties are hoping to bring the party under 50% in tightly contested provinces such as Gauteng and Northern Cape. In a poll released on Monday, the Institute of Race Relations (IRR) suggested the ANC could dip under 50% in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, with ANC support only at 45% in Gauteng.

Sisulu dismissed the IRR poll’s findings on Gauteng on Monday.

“I think there’s something wrong with the computers at (the IRR). Did you check there’s no virus there?” she said.

“I’m not sure, but we are above 60% (nationally). That’s why I think there’s a gremlin in (the IRR’s) computer. They must get a computer expert and check that. It’s not possible the ANC will get below 50%. It’s just impossible,” the minister said.

Sisulu reiterated the IEC’s call for voters to carefully mark and lodge their ballots to avoid wasting their vote.

“They know by now what is good for the country. They know by now what party to vote for. I’d just like them to concentrate on the instructions,” she said.

The leaders of the country’s two largest parties will continue campaigning on Wednesday, with ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa set to meet voters in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, while the DA’s Mmusi Maimane will address a rally in KwaMashu, KwaZulu-Natal.

Voting stations will be open for special votes between 9am and 5pm on Tuesday and for all other votes from 7am to 9pm on Wednesday.

After the results are counted at the voting station, the presiding officer and party agents will sign a form and post one copy at the entrance of the voting station and take another to the local IEC office to be scanned into the results system and the results data captured, which will be audited before being made public. DM