Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla, was one of the thousands of citizens who cast their special vote on Monday.

Yesterday, South Africa marked the first official voting day locally, with special votes continuing today.

Voters living abroad have already cast their votes.

READ | Mashatile thanks South Africans living abroad for casting their votes

Phaahla said all went well as he made his mark around 1pm at his home village of Ga-Phaahla, under the Makhuduthamaga Local Municipality in Sekhukhune District, Limpopo.

He urged all South Africans approved for special votes to make use of this opportunity, especially the elderly and the infirm.

Domestic special votes are for those who are either infirm or have impaired mobility, who will be visited by the IEC at their home or place of confinement, and also for those who wish to cast their vote early, as they may not be able to access their voting station on general Election Day on 29 May 2024.

Phaahla appealed to the public, who will be voting on Wednesday, to
observe non-pharmaceutical interventions at voting stations, as the country is experiencing respiratory infections such as flu, to prevent further transmission.

Phaahla encouraged those who feel vulnerable to wear a mask when going to voting stations.

Voting stations are expected to receive high volumes of people.

The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) reported good progress in the execution of the first day of the special votes.

As of 2pm on Monday, an estimated 201 794 voting station visits of special votes were processed at 22 626 service points.

According to the IEC, all special votes collected will be stored securely overnight and will be transported to voting stations on 29 May to be opened, reconciled and added to the ordinary ballots cast on Wednesday before counting begins.

Over 1.6 million South Africans have been approved to vote via special ballots.

Those who applied to cast a special vote at their voting station must do so between 9am and 5pm.

Voters are reminded that these are di
fferent from the voting hours of 7am to 9pm on Election Day and that they must have their identity documents as a requirement for participation.

After casting votes, the ballots must be inserted in an unmarked envelope, which in turn will be inserted in a second envelope with details of the voter.

Source: South African Government News Agency