Air of excitement among Port Alfred voters

There was excitement among voters passing through voting stations in Port Alfred and Nemato on Wednesday.

Some said it was the chance they had been waiting for, while others shared their hope that change would occur after the elections.

Nombulelo Manengele, who lives in Station Hill, said she was voting to see change taking place after the elections.

“We really hope that the government could create work opportunities for the youth, we need our roads to be fixed, especially in the townships – they look very messy. We need quality education for our children. We really want to see change in the state of our country,” Manengele said.

DA Ward 10 councillor Ray Schenk said the voting had been going very smoothly at the Port Alfred Civic Centre and they had recorded quite a number of voters early in the morning.

“We are doing very well, we are happy with the people that have come already. I must say even the treatment from the IEC workers is excellent. The presiding officers are also very helpful, so overall we are very happy with elections day,” Schenk said.

ACDP Port Alfred chair Amanda Rathbone said things looked really promising in the morning and they were happy with the number of people who braved the cold to come to exercise their right to vote.

“People are making last-minute decisions, but the outcomes could be anything,” Rathbone said.

ANC member Donald Loza Zinqundu said they were confident of victory.

“Today we come in confidence. Three months before the elections we had been going door to door visiting houses – we saw how positive people were about the ANC. Today we are stress-free, we are just happy and know that we will get positive results,” Zinqundu said.

Resident Pat Whitfield said: “What we need as a country is a government  to stop corruption in our country.”​ - Talk of the Town