IEC assures queueing voters they will be able to cast their ballots

MIDRAND - The IEC has assured South Africans queueing at polling stations that they would be able to cast their ballots on Wednesday night.

The reassurance comes amid a range of concerns, including technical glitches, that have slowed voting across the country.

The IEC is currently briefing the media at the national results operations centre in Midrand on the latest developments.

The IEC said that it was experiencing a surge in last-minute voters as the 9pm cut-off time at polling stations draws closer.

Scores of people are still queueing to cast their ballots across thousands of voting districts across the country.

IEC chief electoral commissioner, Sy Mamabolo, said that parts of Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Western Cape and the Eastern Cape were still seeing a lot of foot traffic at the polls.

"In today’s earlier briefing, the commission indicated that it would implement measures to increase the processing of voters in busy areas. We are pleased that our efforts are yielding results, the length of the queues substantially reduced. The commission is also pleased to report that most glitches reported earlier have been overcome, allowing electoral officials to service voters timeously."