Eastern Cape community prevents residents from voting in protest

• The community of Keiskammahoek blocked the road with burned branches and prevented residents from casting their votes
• The residents have gripe against the government for not giving them land that was promised
• Some netizens resonated with the dissatisfaction with service delivery yet also noted the impact of not voting

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Johannesburg, South Africa, has covered policy changes, the State of the Nation Address, politician-related news and elections at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News for over seven years.

KEISKAMMAHOEK — Residents of the Keiskammahoek community in the Eastern Cape have prevented others from voting in the 29 May general elections because of a land claim dispute.

Eastern Cape residents protest on election day

According to @Newzroom405, the community blocked the main road with branches and trees a few metres from it. Residents also stopped special voters from casting their ballots on 28 May in the community. Staff members were also allegedly intimidated by the community.

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A resident said they had a land claim with the government that they first applied for 28 years ago. Despite repeated promises, their promises were not met. He accused the South African Police Service of shooting them with rubber bullets after a government official promised to meet them two days ago and did not show up for the meeting.

View the video here:

South Africans highlight impact of not voting

Netizens sympathised with the netizens but also pointed out the negative impact of not voting in the general elections.

VoteMK29May said:

"This is sad because their not voting maintains the status quo. What they should do is vote out the party which is failing them."

Chitauri said:

"Good action at the wrong time. They should instead vote for MK, which talks about giving land back to the rightful owners instead of not voting at all."

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2ndopinion said:

"Ironically, the voting is the thing that will change their situation."

Rex Ntsane said:

"This is a shame. Terrorists even appear freely on camera while robbing citizens of their right to vote, and Newzroom Africa is calling it a protest. Why is this barbarism allowed?"

Monna wa Senganga said:

"They must be arrested. There are people who want to vote in that area."

Mpumalanga residents threaten not to vote because of having no water and electricity

In a similar article, Briefly News reported that Emalahleni residents threatened not to vote in the general elections.

Their community has been without water or electricity for years, and they said they would withhold their votes if they were not provided with essential services.

Source: Briefly News