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BY REGINALD KANYANE

MEC for local government and human settlements, Galaletsang Gaolaolwe is content that the Independent Electoral Commission in the province will stage successful elections on Wednesday.

Gaolaolwe said that the first day of special votes started well. She added that most of the voting stations opened as scheduled, except ward 8 in Ratlou local municipality where community embarked on protests.

“We appeal to our communities to allow electoral officials to do their work. We also urge them not to engage in any activities that may disrupt the smooth running of elections.

“We encourage all eligible voters including new voters to take this opportunity to go and vote. It is an opportunity for them to have a direct say on who runs their ward and the municipality,” she said. 

Gaolaolwe also said many people fought for democracy and lost their lives for us in order to have a better life.

“It is important that we do not take the voting right for granted. We also appeal to all stakeholders and communities in general to work together towards achieving free and fair elections. 

“The overall success of the elections requires all stakeholders to play an active role. Ensuring free and fair elections must be the primary responsibility of the IEC, but all relevant stakeholders have a major role to play,” she added.

Gaolaolwe further said Provincial Disaster Management Centre officials are on stand-by to tackle any incident that might occur.

“We are ready to implement the local government continuity plan which will ensure the continuity of operations after any kind of occurrence. We have activated the Disaster Management Centre since July. The department is also working with all security structures and the IEC.

“We want to ensure that we deal with any incident head-on. I can declare that as the province, we are 100% ready for the local government elections,” she said.

taungdailynews@gmail.com

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Take heed of Baleka Mbete’s mistake‚ and make sure you take your ID with you when you heading to polling stations on Wednesday.

The African National Congress’ (ANC) national chairperson – and the speaker of the National Assembly – didn’t have hers when she arrived at the Berario Community Centre in Northcliff on Tuesday morning to cast a special vote.

Eyewitness News reported that Mbete’s documents were with officials who handle her travel arrangements‚ and she had to leave the polling station and was expected to return later on Tuesday to try again.

ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa told the radio station: “It’s an important reminder to all of us that‚ whatever you do tomorrow morning‚ have your ID with you.”

Monday saw the opening of two days of special voting for those whose medical conditions or commitments mean they can’t travel to voting stations on Wednesday.

– TMG Digital

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BY REGINALD KANYANE

NORTH West provincial legislature speaker, Sussan Dantjie will sworn-in new Member of the Legislature, Virginia Tsotso Tlhapi. Dantjie said Tlhapi will replace the late MEC for social development, Kgakgamatso Nkewu as the member of legislature.

Dantjie said: “The proceeding will take place at the Speaker’s Boardroom at 3pm. Tlhapi is ANC member and we hope Tlhapi’s inclusion will be fruitful.”

Nkewu passed away a month ago in a car accident between Vryburg and Mahikeng. She was on her way to join ANC deputy president, Cyril Ramaphosa on local government election trail campaign in Molelema village, Taung.

Her vehicle rolled several times before it burst in fire. Nkewu’s VIP protection driver lost control of the vehicle while he was allegedly trying to avoid a cyclist on the road. The cyclist was also killed in the same accident and two VIP protections survived the accident.

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