More than 4 000 voting stations in the Eastern Cape are set to open on Wednesday. (Gallo Images/Misha Jordaan)

• More than 4 000 voting stations in the Eastern Cape were set to open on Wednesday.
• Soldiers were deployed to Mthatha on Monday after a violent protest caused many stations not to open.
• Find everything you need to know about the 2024 general elections on News24’s Elections Hub.

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) in the Eastern Cape said it is all systems go for elections on Wednesday, but warned about the possibility that a few voting stations could experience disruptions.

The province has 4 868 voting stations, 111 voting centres, and 10 mobile stations.

FOLLOW LIVE | Elections 2024: Excitement in the air all around the country as voters queue to make their mark

The Eastern Cape has the third largest number of registered voters in the country at 3 431 097, after Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.

The IEC’s Eastern Cape electoral officer, Kayakazi Magudumana, said staff were threatened by protesting community members at King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality’s Ward 26 voting station on Tuesday.

The station did not open on Monday and Tuesday for special votes.

“[The leadership] of King Sabata Dalindyebo municipality went to address the community, but they did not win. There are threats that the station will not open [on Wednesday] as community members say they will destroy [our tent],” said Magudumana.

READ | Concerns about student voting after Walter Sisulu University’s decision to close Mthatha campus

She said the voting station at the Amahlathi Local Municipality’s Ward 11 area also did not open on Tuesday.  

“The community [at Amahlathi] are complaining about an issue that has to do with a land claim,” said Magudumana.

She said it was disappointing that community members resorted to intimidating the staff.

There were fears that voting was going to be disrupted in the Mthatha area following a violent protest on Monday, but Magudumana said they had been assured that everything was in order after the deployment of the military earlier this week.

The SA Social Security Agency (SASSA) also dismissed the widely circulated WhatsApp voice note, by an unidentified individual, that grants in the province were not going to be paid to beneficiaries until mid-June.

The agency’s Eastern Cape regional manager, Zanoxolo Mpetha, said the message was irresponsible and reckless.

Mpetha said:

He said grants would be paid from 4 to 6 June.

Magudumana said they were ready to vote on Wednesday.

“I am happy with the assistance by police when it comes to handling community protests. I was not happy with them on Monday because they took a long time to clear the roads, but I understand they have their own limitations,” said Magudumana.