Most of the residents of Malamulele ignored the voter registration in the area last weekend.

According to residents, the boycott is part of their demands for an own municipality. They are demanding their own municipality. This demand caused huge problems in the area, and thousands of residents went on the rampage, barricading roads, burning tyres, shops and government offices last month. The rampage was the reaction to the Municipal Demarcation Board’s announcement that they will not have a separate municipality.

The provincial electoral commissioner, Ms Nkaro Mateta, confirmed to Limpopo Mirror that some residents had boycotted the voter registration weekend, with officials working outside the stations’ premises. Mateta said registration in the province progressed smoothly, but only 52 people had registered in Mala­mulele. The IEC in the province insisted that they went to all the stations with their equipment. Though most schools were locked, they were conducting their registration procedure outside those schools' gates. “People were able to register outside the school premises. We tried our best to get the keys, but they were not available,” she added.

Mateta said most people could not register during the weekend because they were threatened or intimidated. Some people were told that if they registered, their houses would be burned down. She acknowledged that the IEC was informed that some people attempted to disrupt officials at the stations, but did not succeed.  

She added that the IEC would continue to strive to reach the people who did not register during the weekend. “We will try to reach those people through our outreach programmes, liaising with civil society groups that work for us,” she said. 

The Malamulele Demarcation Task Team had distanced itself from the alleged disruption. The task team’s spokesperson, Dr Isaiah Ndambi, said they were not aware of any incident. “We just heard about the problem and we will meet with the relevant stakeholders to sort out the problem,” Ndambi said.