In Tati West, Charles Tibone of the BDP got 4,322 votes ahead of BPP’s Richard Gudu with 2,829 and BCP’s Albert Mosojane with 358 votes.
The BDP won eight out of the nine council seats in Tati East. It was stopped by BPP in Themashanga ward. In Senyawe ward, the BDP escaped narrowly with 294 votes to BPP’s 292. The BCP came a distant third in the four wards it contested with votes ranging from 15 to 82.
The BDP continued its triumphant streak in Tati West where it won eight out of the 10 council wards. The BPP won the Kalakamati and Zwenshambe wards with convincing margins. The BCP came third in six of the wards it contested with votes ranging from 26 to 117.
The Saturday showdown however was not without its fair share of low moments. The voters had to brave the strong dusty winds and the scorching heat that raged wildly throughout the two constituencies to exercise their democratic right. As if the winds were not enough, the voters had to endure long and painfully slow queues especially in the morning. These accounted for a significant number of voters retreating home without casting their votes.
“The queues were very long and slow here in the morning and some people went back and never came back. I only came back because I really wanted to vote. I have come a long way to cast my vote,” said one of the voters waiting in a queue in Tsamaya.
The long queues went on into the night with voters complaining of the slow pace of the electoral process. Election officers had to appeal for calm in polling stations like Siviya and Makaleng as voters got agitated after waiting in queues for long. People got unruly and impatiently complained of incompetence on the part of the election officers. Police had to be called from Masunga to bring order.
Although many candidates and party activists could be seen ferrying people to polling stations in the constituencies, there were a lot more who complained of lack of transport. They revealed that they were unlikely to vote because of the long distance they had to walk to polling stations.
