News archive: 2019 election
Fed up community takes matters into own hands
The community of Dambeni in Ntabankulu, in the Eastern Cape, hired their own tractor to fix a badly damaged road. The move followed failed attempts over the past few years to get the municipality to revamp the access road to the area. Local Voice’s Karabo Tebele has...
Promises, promises in uThukela
Before the 2019 South African general elections, several communities threatened to boycott the polls if their concerns were not addressed. Among them are towns and villages governed by the uThukela municipality, based in Ladysmith. This town in the Midlands of...
Water: invisible during the election, invisible since
The campaign for the May 8 election is only a memory. MPs have taken their seats, and a new cabinet is running South Africa. A key issue in the campaign, which is still confronting the country, is around land. But a different issue may have been even more important...
Innovation in news: local WhatsApp channel grows during election period
Gauteng – The Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh Xperience, otherwise commonly known to its users as #SMWX, is the latest local innovation in delivering news to mass audiences. The #SMWX is a WhatsApp channel launched to the public in a little under two months before the election on...
Future voters have mixed feelings about current politics
Gauteng – During election week, the National Results Operations Center (ROC) in Pretoria was a hub of activity, not just for politicians and the media, but also for visitors who were keen to observe the democratic election process at work. Some of these visitors were...
‘We’re here to change the political game’ – #FeesMustFall MP
Gauteng - Former Wits University student and one of the #FeesMustFall leaders Fasiha Hassan, says she and her co-leaders in the student movement are entering parliament as vibrant young people who are determined to change the political game for the benefit of all...
No evidence of double voting; only attempts made
Gauteng – Deputy National Police Commissioner Fanie Masemola says the 22 people who were arrested over allegations of double voting, had in fact, been found to have only attempted to double vote. Masemola told journalists at an IEC media briefing on Friday night that...
‘Robbed’ BLF will not go to court
Gauteng – Leader of the Black First, Land First (BLF) party, Andile Mngxitama says his party will not be going to court with other ‘smaller parties’ to dispute the election results, even though it supports their call and the grievances they’ve raised against the IEC....
Ringo: From popular singer to Member of Parliament?
Gauteng – Popular musician and Western Cape Province native, Ringo Madlingozi says his music has always reflected his political aspirations for his fans and supporters – the black African people. Speaking exclusively to Local Voices from the National Results Center in...
“2019 election is not free and fair; a rerun necessary” – ‘smaller political parties’
Gauteng – Political parties that refer to themselves as ‘so-called smaller political parties’ have declared the 2019 general election as not free nor fair and are demanding a re-run. The 'smaller parties', comprising mainly of the newly established ones, staged a...
“Impressive!” says ex-Tanzania President of SA Voting
Gauteng – Head of the African Union’s Election Observer Mission to South Africa and former president of Tanzania, Jakaya Kikwete, has described South Africa’s electoral process as impressive and a model for other African countries. Kikwete told journalists at the...
Unsettling tensions in KwaMashu and uMlazi on voting day
KwaZulu-Natal – As voters queued to vote yesterday, Police Minister Bheki Cele made appearances at voting stations in KwaMashu and uMlazi 17 Hostels in eThekwini amid high political tensions. Residents said the presence of the minister in these areas brought a sense...