Elections are fertile ground for protests: analyst
Updated | By Shaun Ryan
Parts of our province are yet to settle from yesterday's violent protests. A political analyst feels it came as no surprise that some voting stations were affected by the unrest.
Protests in some communities saw some voting stations opening late in KwaZulu-Natal - as access roads were blocked and IEC officials and voters were unable to reach these stations.
Analyst, Imraan Buccus says some disruptions were inevitable.
"In the run up to an election - and on election day, it becomes very fertile ground for people to leverage things that they want to get out of government. I think it's an indication of how disillusioned people are with the state of politics and generally with the state of their lives," Buccus said.
Buccus says the number of protests also speak to people's belief that electoral politics don't necessarily impact on their lives.
"In the immediate years after freedom - there was a kind of romance attached to our liberation. We were talking about a rainbow nation and we were all intoxicated by that. As years have gone by, as poverty and inequality increased and people continued to ask for homes - it's a level of disillusionment."
NOW READ: 2019 Elections: Counting of first votes underway
Police in KZN say they've arrested at least 12 people linked to the demonstrations.
They are continuing with their investigations into several protests that affected voting in some areas yesterday - these included the Okhahlamba Local Municipality in the Bergville area where 12 people were arrested and Ntuzuma, north of Durban.
ALSO READ: Six arrested in KZN during #ElectionDay2019 protests
"We were very disappointed because we thought that common sense will prevail despite all the communique from IEC officials and police discouraging communities from preventing people to vote. Most of the routes were opened immediately," Naicker said.
Meanwhile, officials continue to tally the votes.
Nationally the ANC is leading with 55% of the vote, followed by the DA with 26% and the EFF at 8.27%. The latest results from KZN show 54% for the ruling party, 22% for the IFP and 12% for the DA.
Show's Stories
-
TikToker tries lasagna bow hair tie in her hair
This sounds as loopy as it turned out... we don't think pasta was meant ...
Vic Naidoo 25 minutes ago -
Take a digital detox this Family Day
Today is a reminder of family and celebrating gratitude.
Carol Ofori 26 minutes ago