This is according to Free State IEC'S  spokesperson, Mathabo Rasengani, who tells OFM News that more than a million voters are expected to cast their votes in the 2021 local government elections in the Free State.  

Rasengani says that she is optimistic that more than half of registered voters will show up at the voting stations and cast their votes. 

OFM News reported that the IEC in the Free State had experienced some setbacks on the first day of special votes, as some of the voting stations were closed because of key issues and not being able to get hold of the owners of the stations' buildings. Rasengani says she hopes that these issues will be mitigated going forward as they have prepared well for voters to exercise their rights.

“In case if we are faced with load-shedding, we have purchased candles and rechargeable lights. We have got about 930 LED rechargeable lights that we will use as a contingency in case we experience load-shedding,” said Rasengani.

OFM News previously reported that a total number of 1 413 122  voters are expected to cast their votes across the Free State, at hundreds of Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) voting stations during this year's local government elections. Rasengani adds that there is a total of 1 564 voting districts with 319 wards across the province. She confirmed that the number of people who registered this time around is less than the number of voters who registered in the IEC local elections back in 2016. She says in 2016, there were 1 470 999 registered voters in the Free State, compared to the current 1 413 122.

Futhermore, a press conference will be held at the nerve center in Bloemfontein, Free State, to update the media about the latest developments regarding the elections across the Free State province.

OFM News/Kekeletso Mosebetsi and Lee Simmons